The Donetsk theatre in the city of Mariupol was supposed to be a place of safety for hundreds of civilians sheltering during the first few weeks of Russia’s invasion in Ukraine. A sign bearing the word “children” was marked on the ground outside, visible from the air.

On 16 March 2022, the building was bombed. Authorities at the time said about 300 people had died, although some estimates were higher.

The stories of survivors are now being recounted by actors who were among those sheltering in the theatre at the time. Mariupol Drama, a play which opens in the UK this week, features real video footage captured on their phones, and personal items saved from the rubble.

Olena Bila and her partner Ihor Kytrysh, who have acted at the theatre since 2003, managed to escape the devastation with their son, Matvii.

“This is a story with a lot of memories from a previous life,” Olena tells Sky News from Ukraine, speaking through a translator. “We worked and lived in Mariupol and did what we loved. In a few days, we lost everything.”

The family also lost their home. Olena says she hopes the play shows that material possessions are not what’s important.

“We lost the material side of our lives. We want to show for everybody that all items around you, the material side of your life, doesn’t matter… it’s your mind, it’s your soul, it’s your heart [that does].”

The couple also hope the production will remind people, almost three years on from the start of Russia’s invasion, that the war is still ongoing.

“We are still at war,” Olena says. “It’s our stories, real stories. Not Hollywood fiction, but a story of real people in Ukraine.

“It’s very hard to see that this war is still continuing. We still have no room for our plans for the future.”

After the start of Russia’s invasion in February 2022, the theatre, in the city’s Tsentralnyi district, became a hub for the distribution of medicine, food and water, and a designated gathering point for people hoping to be evacuated from Mariupol via humanitarian corridors.

The building was attacked after weeks of Russian fire on Mariupol.

Vira Lebedynska, the theatre’s head of music and drama, is also one of the performers in Mariupol Drama. When the bombs hit, she was sheltering in an underground room used for music recording which remained mostly untouched, she says.

It saved her.

Russia denied bombing the building deliberately. Following their own investigation, Amnesty International described the attack as a war crime.

British actor David MacCreedy heard about Mariupol Drama and met the actors during an aid trip to Ukraine and says he was struck “by just how powerful it was”. He has been instrumental in bringing the story to the UK.

“It needed to be seen here,” he says.

The play’s actors want to show that despite the destruction of the building, Mariupol’s theatre is still alive.

“Our theatre is fighting,” says Olena.”It is restored not to cry, but to fight.”

Mariupol Drama is on at the Home performing arts centre in Manchester from today until Saturday.

The first episode of a podcast hosted by AI replicating Sir Michael Parkinson has been released – and comedian and podcaster Jenny Eclair has branded it a “terrible, terrible idea”.

The podcast Virtually Parkinson sees AI technology synthetically recreate the late presenter’s voice and style to interview real-life celebrities.

Known for his interviews with the world’s biggest stars, Parkinson died in 2023 aged 88, following a brief illness.

The first episode released on Monday saw the Parkinson AI speak to R&B singer Jason Derulo, who was answering questions about his upbringing, fatherhood and fracturing part of his neck.

Eclair, who co-hosts the podcast Older and Wider with Judith Holder, said it made her “furious”.

Speaking about the podcast on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Eclair, 64, said: “I’m furious, because there are living people like me who’ve still got mortgages, I’ve just actually mostly got rid of mine.

“But there’s not enough room. I know he was dearly loved and that sort of thing but there’s loads of back catalogue content that people can help themselves to.

“This is a terrible, terrible idea, we’re all fighting over the same space you know, the podcasts and the telly, and everybody’s desperately trying to say ‘me over here, please listen to my stuff’.

“I’ve got a podcast and I don’t think I can compete with Michael Parkinson, even when he’s not living and breathing.”

Virtually Parkinson’s producers Deep Fusion Films, who created the show with the support and involvement of Parkinson’s family and estate, said: “Jenny’s comments are precisely why the podcast was created, AI is a subject which people have strong opinions about, but is AI as scary as people think it is?

“Is it really coming for people’s jobs? Virtually Parkinson exists to explore the relationship between AI and humans, it simply couldn’t do that without having an AI host, so this is not a case of an AI replacing a human job.

“In fact, the podcast is launched at a time when the creative sector has been hit very hard and many find themselves out of work and Virtually Parkinson has created 15 jobs, which otherwise wouldn’t have existed.”

‘A tribute to my dad’

It was Parkinson’s son, Mike Parkinson, who reached out to the company with the idea of creating the podcast as a way to preserve his father’s legacy, calling it “a tribute to my dad”.

Deep Fusion was already using AI technology – dubbed “Squawk” – to allow live humans to speak with voices from the past.

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When Mike Parkinson reached out, Deep Fusion drew from a back catalogue of more than 2,000 of his father’s interviews to recreate his voice and interview technique.

The company also expanded to create the project, hiring a new head of creative AI, an AI prompt engineer, researchers, guest bookers, podcast producers, and a sound engineer.

When the podcast was first announced last year, Mike Parkinson said: “I want audiences to marvel at the technology, the cleverness and cheekiness of the concept, but mostly I want them to remember just how good he was at interviewing and enjoy the nostalgia and happy memories.

“Through this platform, his legacy can continue, entertaining a new generation of fans.”

Podcast comes as government embraces AI future

The show’s launch has coincided with the government’s pledge to “mainline AI into the veins” of the UK, claiming that if AI is “fully embraced”, it could bring £47bn to the economy every year.

Announcing his goals to make the UK “the world leader” in AI, prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said: “Artificial Intelligence will drive incredible change in our country. From teachers personalising lessons, to supporting small businesses with their record-keeping, to speeding up planning applications, it has the potential to transform the lives of working people.

“But the AI industry needs a government that is on their side, one that won’t sit back and let opportunities slip through its fingers. And in a world of fierce competition, we cannot stand by. We must move fast and take action to win the global race.”

RuPaul’s Drag Race star The Vivienne was remembered at a vigil in their home city of Liverpool on Sunday night.

James Lee Williams, originally from Colwyn Bay in North Wales, died on 5 January aged 32.

Hundreds of fans and friends of The Vivienne gathered at Liverpool‘s St George’s Hall.

Buildings across the city were lit up in green to commemorate the drag queen and their role as the Wicked Witch of the West in the Wizard Of Oz musical.

Fellow drag queen Danny Beard said the vigil was “a celebration of someone who touched the lives of so many”.

“The Vivienne was one of the world’s most recognisable drag queens, a proper world class entertainer,” they added.

“And above all a shining beacon in all of our lives and especially for the LGBT community.”

Since The Vivienne first rose to prominence in 2019, they appeared on a number of TV programmes, including Blankety Blank over the Christmas period.

The first episode in the series of Dancing On Ice on Sunday night also featured a tribute to The Vivienne, who competed on the 2023 series.

Presenter Holly Willoughby said many would have been “saddened by the tragic news”.

“They were a huge part of our show, making it all the way to the final in 2023,” she added.

“They will be very sorely missed and our thoughts are with The Vivienne’s loved ones at this time. So sad.”

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In a tribute released after Mr Williams’s death, a Dancing On Ice spokesperson said they were “deeply saddened” by the news.

They said Mr Williams had made “TV history through their groundbreaking and spellbinding skating partnership”, becoming the first drag act to reach the Dancing On Ice final.