Welcome to Culbaba Theatre CIO
We preserve and share authentic Ukrainian traditional song, ritual and folk arts through research-led performance, education and community collaboration.
Culbaba Theatre is a registered charity based in Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex. Founded in 2024 by Ukrainian women now living in the UK, we are dedicated to preserving and bringing to life Ukraine’s intangible heritage through traditional music, rituals, customs, theatre and folk arts.
Our work is grounded in research, historical understanding and professional artistic practice, ensuring that the traditions we share are approached with knowledge, integrity and respect.
Beyond performance, Culbaba Theatre is a community brought together by a shared commitment to Ukrainian culture. Our members come from different regions of Ukraine, each carrying their own memories, local traditions and experiences. Together, we create a space where these traditions are actively practised, passed on and shared with wider audiences.
This December, a small two-storey puppet theatre will appear on stage in Bexhill. Its design is based on an eighteenth-century Ukrainian original. Its cast includes angels, shepherds, King Herod, musicians, merchants and devils. Bringing it back to life has involved everything from deciphering historical musical notation and comparing manuscript copies to converting measurements recorded in vershoks into modern centimetres.
Bexhill Day has become one of those occasions that brings the town together. Local organisations, performers, volunteers, businesses and residents all play their part, creating a day that reflects the character of Bexhill itself.
Today marks an important milestone in the history of Culbaba Theatre.
This year's Refugee Week theme was Courage. Last Sunday, we joined communities from across Hastings at the Sanctuary Festival and found ourselves thinking about what courage means in everyday life.
The British weather nearly got the better of us on Saturday.
Culbaba Theatre was honoured to take part in the Bexhill Festival of Music with a special performance at the historic Coronation Bandstand on Bexhill seafront.