A Short History Of Tractors In Ukrainian

'This gold digging, blonde bombshell, with her superior breasts is not going to con our father of his small worldly possessions.'

Meet Nikolai, a retired Ukrainian engineer and tractor historian, and his daughters, Vera and Nadezhda, who haven’t spoken since the death of their mother. None of them are prepared for the fluffy pink grenade that’s about to explode into their lives.

Nikolai is instantly besotted with thirty-six year old bombshell Valentina, but is she a refuge searching for better opportunities, or visa seeker trying to cheat a vulnerable old man? The sisters unite in horror to defend their father and what remains of his pension.

As Valentina’s dreams of Western prosperity begin to shatter, things take a darker turn. Nadezhda and her shaken family must face the ghosts of their past, confront their heritage and rediscover relationships.
Marina Lewycka’s million-copy bestselling novel won The Bollinger Everyman Prize for Comic Fiction and the Waverton Good Read Award, and was shortlisted for The Orange Prize for Fiction in 2005.

Adapted by award-winning playwright Tanika Gupta (The Waiting Room, The Empress, Anita and Me) as a piece of ensemble storytelling, this family comedy continues to have sharp relevance to today’s society.

Originally commissioned by Sheffield Theatres.