In 1929, Ukrainians were discovering the joys of jazz and singing the stories of their city of Kharkiv. Radio 477! is inspired by the first jazz musical at Ukraine’s Berezil Theatre in 1929, Hello, This is Radio 477!, an avant-garde show about the culturally-thriving city at that time. The audiences loved the show’s catchy songs, wild dances and dazzling sets. The Communist Party bosses did not, so the show and its artists disappeared in Stalin’s purges. A few years ago, Virlana Tkacz, Yara Arts Group's director, discovered the conductor’s score hidden in an archive.
Radio 477! is a new show created by Yara Arts Group and Ukrainian artists about the city of Kharkiv, its jazz history and how it stood up to Putin today. With texts and lyrics by award-winning Ukrainian poet Serhiy Zhadan and music by Anthony Coleman, it is directed by Virlana Tkacz.
