Person Place Thing with Randy Cohen Richard Nelson
Feb 21, 2026
Richard Nelson, a playwright and director who staged work internationally including a wartime production in Kyiv. He discusses Harley Granville Barker and an actor-centered approach to theater. He recounts directing When the Hurly Burly's Done in Kyiv during air raids, theater as cultural resistance, collaboration, and a meaningful handmade gift.
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Actors As The Play's Life
- Harley Granville Barker centers actors as the living heart of a play rather than mere appendages to text.
- Richard Nelson uses Barker's credo to shape plays that emphasize being over doing onstage.
Podil Theater's Daily Repertory Life
- Nelson describes Podil's Andreevsky Descent and the theater near Bugakov's house as a vivid cultural hub in Kyiv.
- He reports repertory life there: two stages, dozens of actors, and daily rotating plays fueling community connection.
Staging Shakespeare In Wartime Kyiv
- When the Hurly Burley's Done follows six young women staging Macbeth in 1920 Ukraine amid civil war and bartering tickets for food.
- Nelson recounts packed houses and an opening-night air-raid that interrupted the performance.