On March 30, 2025, the Zaporizhzhia Academic Regional Youth Theater hosted a unique two-hour premiere of the psychological thriller “The Mysterious Night Murder of a Dog,” starring a 13-year-old teenager with autism from the temporarily occupied Berdiansk – Ukrainian “Picasso” Maksym Brovchenko. The production was based on Simon Stephens’ world-famous play, written from Mark Haddon’s novel and directed by Gennady Fortus.
This performance claims to be an extraordinary phenomenon in Ukrainian theater culture and on the world stage. The fact is that the audience has never seen anything like it before, as the young man became perhaps the first actor with autism spectrum disorder to perform brilliantly on stage for two hours straight (with only a 15-minute intermission), fulfilling the director’s main idea and winning the hearts of the audience, who, without exaggeration, cried throughout the performance and gave a standing ovation at the end.
“The Night Killing of a Dog” is a complex and touching story whose main character is 15-year-old autistic Christopher, played by Maxim.
The young man investigates the murder of his neighbor’s dog, for which he is accused. During the investigation, Christopher gets to know his neighbors and learns many family secrets, some of which are shocking, but in the end, he helps the adults learn the most important thing – to love. Despite all the trials, misunderstandings, and society’s rejection of the autistic world, Christopher overcomes all difficulties and passes his math course with flying colors.
After the performance, Maxim himself shares his impressions:
“Despite my nerves, everything worked out! Thank you to the entire theater staff. Thank you, Gennady Vadimovich. Thank you to everyone who believed in me! Thank you all.”
Almost all rehearsals for the play took place under shelling, as the frontline city of Zaporizhzhia is constantly terrorized by Russian monsters. Maksym’s mother, Oksana, admitted that at first she had doubts about whether her son would be able to cope with the difficult two-act play in such conditions. But then she saw that Max was doing well and the actors were doing well. “The story began two years ago with the lights in the theater. Previously, Max watched performances in fragments, unable to sit through the entire play. Most of the time, he looked at the lights. Two years have passed and everything has changed in Max’s life. He is a person like everyone else, regardless of whether he is neurotypical or neurodivergent. The theater has played a huge role in the development of his personality. He has learned to trust people, which is very difficult for autistic people. The tremendous support of the cast and the director did the trick. Everything worked out for Max, and everything worked out for the director,” said Oksana.
The topic of autism is currently very relevant, as the number of diagnosed autistic people is growing every year, but society still does not understand the behavior of autistic people in everyday life and, most importantly, what they feel. Therefore, before the premiere of the new version of the play “The Mysterious Night Murder of a Dog,” a press conference was held, where there was much discussion about healthy living for people with autism in a society that understands them.
The event was attended by Inna Sergienko, founder of the NGO “Child with a Future” and consul of “Autism Europe,” who noted:
A few years ago, I attended a festival for people with autism in the UK, where I saw many adults with autism who have families, get married and divorced, create music, write books, and paint. I saw that autistic adults have adult lives—they are living! It is very important to me that my son, Max, and other children with autism also have a future. Everyone wants to be understood. Max brings many people together. He is currently performing in a play at a regular theater. This does not happen very often. I am not even sure if this has ever happened in Ukraine. It is a unique event!
We would like to remind you that Maksym continues to paint his pictures and sell them at auctions, exhibitions, and master classes, thanks to which he has been able to raise hundreds of thousands of hryvnias, which he immediately transfers to help the Armed Forces of Ukraine and Ukrainian children with autism. His work has been praised by First Lady Olena Zelenska, Valery Zaluzhny, Igor Klymenko, and others, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky awarded the young man for his volunteer work and contribution to supporting the army.
Maksym also published his first book, Planet A, a science fiction story about the causes of autism on Earth and his vision of a society filled with love and tolerance for all living things (the book was recently translated into Czech).