Songs for Babyn Yar reveals the forgotten stories and silenced songs from one of the most devastating periods in Ukraine’s past and asks how we can move forward.

September, 1941. Nazi occupying forces murder more than 33,000 Jews in the ravine of Babyn Yar in the surburbs of Kyiv, Ukraine, over just two days. In the following two years of Nazi occupation, Babyn Yar becomes the site of over 100,000 deaths.

November, 2021. 80 years later, three Ukrainian musicians journey deep into their shared history, drawing on survivors' testimonies, traditional Yiddish and Ukrainian folk songs, poetry and storytelling. Featuring musicians Yuriy Gurzhy, Svetlana Kundish and Mariana Sadovska, this music theatre performance devised by Dash Arts explores the complex history and legacy of a tragedy that has never been fully commemorated.

Directed by Josephine Burton

Dramaturgy by Yael Shavit and Josephine Burton

Music composed and arranged by Yuriy Gurzhy, Svetlana Kundish and Mariana Sadovska

A Dash Arts production. In partnership with Ukrainian Institute (Kyiv) and Goethe-Institut Ukraine. Supported by Maria Björnson Memorial Fund, Shoresh Charitable Trust and Goethe-Institut London. Co-promoted with Ukrainian Institute London. Part of EFG London Jazz Festival.