ON OUR RADAR

The Shadow: a Devon for Ukraine fundraiser

Soviet playwright Evgengy Schwartz’ poetic and philosophical retelling of a Hans Christian Anderson tale is a subversive fable about choices we make for social and political gain and for love.

Leigh Curtis

Maketank will host performances of The Shadow to raise funds for Devon Ukrainian Association and the Conversation Café on Tuesday 24 May.

Soviet playwright Evgengy Schwartz’ famous poetic and philosophical retelling of a Hans Christian Anderson tale is a subversive fable about choices we make for social and political gain and for love.

It centres on a naive young scholar who finds himself wandering through a mystical land where the corruption in the social order reflects the corruption of the government.

Both fear anything and anyone that threatens reform because it promises the end of privilege.

The Shadow, Tuesday 24 May 2022 at Maketank, Exeter

Written in 1940 at the height of Stalinist expansion of the USSR, when Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Moldova were all annexed under military occupation, The Shadow dissects what happens when our desires carry us in one direction but others parts of our natures take us elsewhere.

This production grew out of a university student project mentored by Maketank’s Olya Petrakova but has taken on a life of its own, just as the shadow does in the play.

Subscribe to The Exeter Digest - Exeter Observer's essential free email newsletter

Your personal information will be processed and stored in accordance with our Privacy Policy

All proceeds will be donated to the Devon Ukrainian Association and the Conversation Café, a city centre support hub created in the first few weeks of the war to provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine and support Ukrainians who are fleeing the Russian invasion to find new homes in the south west.

The Shadow is at 2pm and 7pm on Tuesday 24 May 2022 at Maketank, and is presented in collaboration with Arts & Culture University of Exeter.

Tickets via Eventbrite. Twenty free tickets are available for Ukrainian nationals.


Democracy doesn't work when people don't know who is deciding what on whose behalf and what the costs and consequences of those decisions will be.

Exeter Observer is proving that reader-funded media can deliver the independent public interest journalism our local democracy needs.

Upgrade to a paid Exeter Observer subscription to support our work and get access to exclusive premium content and more.

More stories
Exeter Energy heat plant indicative render north elevation

Exeter City Council disregards national planning policy and Environment Agency criticism to approve Riverside Valley Park flood zone heat plant plans

Five gas boilers to provide 80% of “low-to-zero carbon” Grace Road Fields plant generation capacity for distribution to institutional consumers through privately-run 13-mile underground network expected to take ten years to complete.

University of Exeter West Park redevelopment demolition block plan

West Park redevelopment demolitions to proceed to enable intrusive unexploded ordnance surveys before works can begin

Five year-old University of Exeter plans to provide 2,000 new student bedspaces in blocks up to nine storeys tall by demolishing up to 30 buildings on fifteen acre Streatham campus site about to take seismic step towards delivery.

His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary Fire and Rescue Services logo

HMICFRS identifies sufficient Devon & Cornwall Police improvements to return force to routine monitoring

Inspectorate decision follows nearly three years of enhanced monitoring after force found inadequate in three of nine areas and requiring improvement in two more, but says “still work to do” in crime recording standards and investigations management.

Devon & Cornwall Police deputy chief constable Jim Colwell, previous chief constable Will Kerr and interim chief constable James Vaughan

Devon & Cornwall Police deputy chief constable Jim Colwell receives 18-month misconduct warning

Outcome of Independent Office for Police Conduct investigation delivered day before retirement of suspended chief constable Will Kerr announced, with Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez unwilling to say whether “golden handshake” agreed.

Newtown active travel scheme map

Newtown active travel scheme approved after four years of public consultations

Joint Devon County Council and Exeter City Council project includes road closure, car parking changes and contraflow Clifton Hill cycle lane.