In front of the Ivan Franko Theater building stands a bronze figure of a man in the image of the brave soldier Švejk – this is a monument to Ignat Yury, the founder and long-time director of this theater. Sculptors Volodymyr and Oleksiy Chepelyk depicted the outstanding actor and director in one of his most beloved roles, and unveiled the monument in May 2011. The place was not chosen by chance: Yury lived opposite, on Olhynska Street, and dedicated his entire creative life to the theater that stands right there. And the monument also has its own sign – rub the metal plate on Švejk’s belt, and luck will smile at you.
In addition, in the park near the theater, a man and a dog are sitting on an ordinary bench – and only when you get closer, you realize that both are bronze. This is a monument to Mykola Yakovchenko, a beloved actor of the Franko Theater, whom Kyiv residents recognized on the street as easily as on stage. Sculptors Volodymyr and Oleksiy Chepelyk depicted him in the most ordinary situation – on a walk with his faithful Fan-Fan – and did it with such attention to detail, down to buttons and sandals, that the line between sculpture and living person almost disappears. The monument was opened in 2000 for the 100th anniversary of the actor’s birth, and since then it has become one of the warmest and most human places on Ivan Franko Square.