March 21- April 2, 2023

Fountain Hall Stage | Written and directed by Annie Valentina

Please note: this show contains scenes of physical violence, suggestion of sexual violence, discussions of death, explicit language, and use of sexist, homophobic and racist slurs. It also contains haze, flickering lights, firearms, stage blood and injuries, simulated vomiting, and kidnapping and abduction.
During the show, four cigarettes and a vape are smoked; the cigarette substitute (cocoa beans) is quite similar in smell to real cigarettes.

RP

"The show is amazing. I don't know what to say besides you don't want to miss this show."

BC

"Ballad of the Motherland is a heart wrenching play, beautifully produced. It balanced the internal conflict of trauma and comedy skillfully."

Charlene F

"Enlightening and impactful"

Anonymous

"Haunting, heart aching, darkly funny- stunningly human. i'd see this 20 more times if i could."

NR

"Wow! Ballad of the Motherland was visceral and moving. It's so important to see the nuance to situations, that it's not as simple as good vs bad. To see the deep, complex humanity in these situations. A brilliant production all around!"

Liz

"Powerful story well acted "

RC

"A wonderful production with fabulous set design and an interesting mix of immersed acting and conversational storytelling"

Neptune Theatre is proud to partner with the YMCA of Greater Halifax/Dartmouth on the production of Ballad of The Motherland. Neptune is donating $1 from every ticket purchased for this production to the Nova Scotia Supports Ukraine fund. For more information on the fund, ways to help or to make a donation visit: https://ymcahfx.ca/ns-supports-ukraine/

In 2014, down-on-her-luck writer Kate was thrilled to land an internship at a prestigious international magazine in Kyiv. What an opportunity to explore her ancestral homeland and culture first-hand! Little did Kate know she was about to become both witness to a major turning point in history, and an unwitting participant in it.

While on a mission to connect to her father’s Russian-Ukrainian roots in the Donbas region, Kate found herself in a military zone controlled by pro-Russian separatists. Under suspicion of being a “Western operative” for the newly minted Kyiv government, she was detained by armed militia and spent many days in captivity, her only access to the world through an inscrutable, volatile young local tasked with her custody.

The story of her abduction made international headlines. But Kate herself has never publicly talked about the events of eight years ago - until now.

As she pieces together memories in real time against the ever-looming reality of an ongoing war in Ukraine, Kate grapples with her own fractured cultural identity, the dissonance between public and personal narrative, and the surprising survival strategies we reach for in the face of improbable odds.

Ballad of the Motherland is loosely inspired by true events that took place during the early days of the Donbas conflicts (2014). All characters portrayed are fictional.