“I always called the Kherson Theatre my second home. In August 2022, my colleagues and I finally returned – for the first time since the full-scale invasion – to collect our personal belongings. When I stepped across the threshold of my dressing room, where I had worked for nearly forty years, tears came flooding out. There lay my costumes, my makeup, the jewelry for my performances, vases that were always brimming with flowers – my whole life in one room. I didn’t know what to grasp first. I was terrified of strangers rifling through everything, so I grabbed a vase and smashed it against the floor. In that moment, it felt as though my entire theatrical life shattered along with the porcelain,” – recalls Olena Gall-Savalska.
People’s Artist of Ukraine Olena Gall-Savalska is familiar to multiple generations of Kherson residents. Her childhood unfolded behind theatre wings; almost her entire adulthood was spent on the stage of the Mykola Kulish Kherson Academic Music and Drama Theatre. With her voice, her charisma, and her transformative stage presence, she has won the hearts of thousands of Ukrainian spectators. Only now can we openly share the harrowing experiences this renowned actress endured during occupation – and who helped her overcome depression and return to the boards.
Between tours and rehearsals, Olena Gall-Savalska finds time for journalists eager to hear her story
Feared Forced Evacuation to Russia
Olena Gall-Savalska and her husband Viktor spent eight and a half months living in Russian-occupied Kherson. They had planned to leave the city, but circumstances thwarted every attempt: both contracted COVID, their dog needed surgery, and their car broke down. “It felt like everything was working against our family,” – Olena admits.
“It was Viktor, then in the hospital, who first warned me that the larger war was upon us. He told me to gather documents, money, pack our suitcases. Frankly, I didn’t take him seriously – war had been raging in Ukraine for eight years already. I asked the doctors to extend his treatment and went out to walk the dog,” – she remembers. – “But once I stepped outside, I saw panic in the streets: lines of cars packed with belongings speeding off in unknown directions. The full realization didn’t hit until March, when the Russians occupied the city.”
When Russians occupied Kherson in early March, Olena Gall-Savalska understood the script was repeating – just as it had in Donetsk. Source: archives of Kherson residents
The couple’s apartment in central Kherson offered daily views of the commandant’s office, of armed soldiers and enemy vehicles marked with “Z”. Olena rarely ventured outside; Viktor handled groceries and the dog walks.
“I woke each morning hoping the occupation was nothing more than a nightmare,” – she says. – “But all it took was a glance through the kitchen curtain to see our hopes turn to ash. I watched Russian troops unpack equipment at the military base. On the internet, posts recounted people being shot, apartments looted. Witnessing that horror was almost too much to bear. The only solace was singing quietly – just to myself – Ukrainian songs: our national anthem, ‘Chervona Kalyna’ (‘Red Viburnum’), tears streaming down my face. I’d think: will I always have to keep my favorite Ukrainian songs under wraps, only to sing them alone at home? And then I’d cry again.”
When asked if she and Viktor ever reconsidered fleeing, Olena replies, “Yes,” but concedes they lacked the strength to endure the punishing heat, the agonizing queues.
“My friends warned me: ‘Olena, you have high blood pressure, and it’s so hot – you won’t survive.’ The lines to exit were horrific – people even died waiting. We had no choice but to wait for Ukraine’s defenders to liberate us. We believed they would.”
The most terrifying specter during occupation was forced evacuation to Russia or Kherson’s left bank. Olena and Viktor feared soldiers might burst into their home and drag them away.
“We moved, in haste, to a private house near the Oleksandr Gonchar Library. No electricity, heat, water or mobile service. Viktor walked at dawn to the Dnipro with buckets for water. We seldom left the house. Meanwhile, the occupiers looted and carted goods off in trucks. It was dreadful,” – Olena recalls.
Some Survived While Others Danced to Russian Harps
Olena drew immense support from theatre colleagues, clandestinely gathering with them over coffee to stave off despair.
“I remember on March 8, 2022, we brought a small gift to her home,” – says Iryna Koroliova, head of the directing department at Kherson Theatre. – “She greeted us in tears, relieved and amazed that we’d evaded the occupiers. In those days, we found hidden routes to avoid them. When she needed specialized medication, we smuggled pills through Odesa, Zaporizhzhia and Crimea. When I evacuated in September 2022, leaving Olena and the rest of the troupe was so painful.”
Actress Olena Khokhlatkina of Kyiv’s Ivan Franko National Theatre kept constant contact. A native of Donetsk who endured occupation and combat since 2014, she offered Olena the exact words needed to endure.
By late spring, it emerged that not all theatre colleagues maintained their integrity – some collaborated with the Russians. News of actors performing under occupation felt like a knife to Olena’s heart.
“I couldn’t fathom how anyone could willingly betray us,” – Olena says. – “These collaborators claimed they were planning ‘celebrations for Kherson’s children,’ but it was all lies. I personally saw occupiers bus in fake families from Crimea to stage propaganda.”
Olena Gall-Savalska immediately recognized that collaborators dancing in occupied Kherson were not doing it for the children. Source: Glavcom
Olena resolved that she would rather live without a stage, theatre or audience than dance to Russian harps. Thankfully, occupation authorities never approached her with offers – which was itself a relief.
“Was I afraid colleagues would turn me in? Absolutely. Was I afraid of what might happen if I refused the occupiers’ demands? Definitely. We all remember how Russian soldiers executed conductor Yuriy Kerpatenko in his own home, intoxicated by impunity and lawlessness. I lived just meters from their base – every knock and hammer blow shook my heart. Holidays terrified me most, knowing they were planning concerts and looking for performers to share the bill with Russian artists. Even when a cafe owner asked my husband why I wasn’t performing – because the actor Serhiy Harmash was due to arrive – I was filled with disgust. Thank God I was spared those invitations.”
Liberation’s Disbelief
Olena Gall-Savalska did not believe Kherson had been liberated right away. She thought the Russians were staging yet another propaganda film.
Olena’s family rejoiced at the city’s liberation, hoping the worst was behind them. Source: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
“Olena Khokhlatkina warned us to expect provocations and propaganda, so on November 11, 2022, I truly didn’t believe it when voices sang ‘Chervona Kalyna’ and then our national anthem outside the prison. Without internet or phone service, how could we confirm? We were too afraid to go into the downtown. That evening, we heard the singing; by the morning of November 12, everyone knew. We were overjoyed and believed the worst was finally over. I cried tears of happiness,” – Olena recalls.
Standing Ovations and Tears
But it turned out that not everything was behind her. Almost immediately after Kherson’s liberation, Russian forces began a new wave of heavy shelling. On December 22, 2022, Olena Gall-Savalska and her husband made the painful decision to leave their hometown. They settled in a village some sixty kilometers from Kropyvnytskyi. Deep inside, Olena, People’s Artist of Ukraine, mourned the loss of her true element – life in the theatre, on the stage, surrounded by actors and an audience.
“My husband Viktor kept assuring me, ‘You will return to the stage, and our audience will shower you with ovations just as before.’ I looked at him and wondered if he was mocking me. I asked, ‘Are you trying to torture me further? Do you want to finish me off?’ For me, this was a brutal reality, as everything in my world had suddenly been put on pause,” – Olena Gall-Savalska remembers.
A call from Vyacheslav Vandrashek, director of the Kropyvnytskyi Music and Drama Theatre, proved decisive. He was among the first to invite Olena to take part in the commemorative concert “Ukraine Above All,” marking the anniversary of the full-scale invasion.
“On the phone, I could hear her sorrow, her hunger for new emotions and experiences. When she arrived for that first rehearsal, our entire company greeted her – and Olena broke down in tears onstage. She was so moved by the theatrical atmosphere. At the premiere, the audience rose to their feet in applause, filling every seat. In that moment, she was reborn,” – Vandrashek recounts.
On February 24, 2023, Olena Gall-Savalska returned to the theatre stage in Kropyvnytskyi for the first time in a year. Source: Vyacheslav Vandrashek archive
Return to Film – A Revival
After enduring the “Groundhog Day” of occupied Kherson, Olena seized every opportunity that came her way. Work felt like a breath of fresh air. So when she was invited to audition for the television series ‘The Carrier’ («Pereviznytsia»), she had no hesitation.
“I was overjoyed when they confirmed my role. Soon I was called in for makeup fittings, costumes, and to read my part with the director. Everything clicked, and off we went to filming. I appear in just one episode, but the experience captivated me completely. I was so happy – and deeply grateful to the directors and casting team for finding me and believing in me,” – Olena says.
On the set of ‘The Carrier’, Olena Gall-Savalska did not hide her emotions; some scenes even brought her to tears. Source: STB TV channel
‘The Carrier’ premiered in February 2024. Viewers can glimpse Olena in Episode 5 as an Odessa librarian devoted to preserving Ukrainian literature. Her character is estranged from her grandson—until she learns he is being sent to the front. Racing against time, she does everything in her power to apologise before he departs.
Promotional image for ‘The Carrier’ featuring Olena Gall-Savalska as the librarian. Source: STB YouTube channel
A Touring Life Gains Momentum
One year after the war began, Kherson’s theatre gradually resurrected itself – and by December 2023, Olena Gall-Savalska’s schedule was packed. On December 2, at an underground arts hub, she premiered the solo play “Foe, You Shall Get What the Witch Pronounces” based on the Kherson writer Olena Malyarenko’s ‘The Anti-Tank Witch‘. The title itself is borrowed from lines in Lyudmyla Horova’s celebrated poem.
“During the occupation, I wrote thirty satirical tales called ‘Giselle and Peace,’ lampooning the Russians,” – Olena Malyarenko explains. – “From May 2022, I published them online for free. One of my readers was theatre director Oleksandr Knyha. After Kherson’s liberation, he invited me to read at the Poetry Cabinet and then asked if I could adapt my stories into a play. He even suggested we include a scene about the environmental catastrophe following the Kakhovka Dam’s destruction. Though I kept postponing, the director phoned again to remind me of my promise. I sent him a draft, but the theatre artists embraced it so enthusiastically they hardly changed a word.”
The premiere of “Foe, You Shall Get What the Witch Pronounces” drew thousands of glowing reviews and thunderous applause. Photo: Vadym Hnidash
“Seventy percent of the monodrama is my text; the remaining thirty percent is the theatre ensemble’s work,” – Olena Malyarenko adds. – “I know Olena Gall-Savalska contributed a personal episode, and director-producer Serhiy Pavliuk adjusted certain passages. They also chose and integrated songs that harmonized perfectly. I love what they have created – it’s a collective work that unflinchingly portrays the occupation’s painful moments.”
According to Olena Gall-Savalska, the monodrama pierces every soul in the audience – evoking tears, laughter, self-irony and, at its core, the deep tragedy of a nation. Though she met Malyarenko only at the premiere, their shared pain guided the production’s vision. The play is now touring passionately through Chernihiv, Kyiv and Cherkasy.
Excerpts from the monodrama “Foe, You Shall Get What the Witch Pronounces”
Today, Olena Gall-Savalska lives in Mykolaiv, where she and her colleagues are preparing new productions to captivate Ukrainian audiences in the next theatre season. She insists that only by pursuing her beloved craft can she truly feel alive. She believes wholeheartedly in Ukraine’s ultimate victory – and looks forward to the day she once again stands on the Kulish Kherson Regional Music and Drama Theatre’s grand stage and leads a festive procession down Kherson’s streets at the opening of the Melpomene of Tavria International Festival.
Author: Iryna Miezientseva
