YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS UKRAINE @THE TANK to be Presented in June

The Tank will present YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS UKRAINE @THE TANK, the first New York production of two plays from Young Playwrights Ukraine. The evening will be directed by Grace Cahill with Kelly AuCoin, Catherine Curtin, Taya Fedorenko, Rory Greenwood, Jonny-James Kajoba, Uliana Klimchuk, and Isabel Renner, and takes place at The Tank on June 6, and 7th 2025 at 9:30 pm and June 9th 2025 at 7:00 pm.

Young Playwrights Ukraine, founded by New York-based writer Laura Cahill, is a company of young writers, actors, and directors, aged 18-22, living with war. Many have left their homes, now residing in different parts of Europe and the US; others remain in Ukraine, living with frequent missile attacks. Since 2022 they have met on Zoom, driven by a mission to tell their stories to the world and to give a voice to those who cannot.

"Boom" by Karina Syrota tells the story of a woman waking up to war on February 24th, 2022 and fleeing everything she knows to start her life anew as a refugee. The play was first performed at the Segal Theatre Center in New York. "Life is Absurd, But Love is Good" by Asia Pshenychna tells the story of a young couple in Odesa, isolated by war, with no one to turn to for life advice but the Black Sea. It's currently being performed at The Cockpit in London.

Laura Cahill, founder and artistic director of Young Playwrights Ukraine says, "After more than three years together, these young writers continue to tell the story of ordinary people in war in real time. Asia Pshenychna and Karina Syrota are playwrights to watch."

About Young Playwrights Ukraine

Young Playwrights Ukraine was founded by New York-based writer Laura Cahill in the weeks after the war began in February 2022. YPU has grown to include dozens of professional writers, actors, and directors who guide and support the young writers' work.

Their first collection, "How Do You Feel Fear?" was performed on Zoom in 2022 with actors Cara Buono, Ann Dowd, Kevin Corrigan and David Morse. It was subsequently produced by Orion Theatre in Stockholm, Sweden, directed by Lars Rudolfsson.

In 2023, a mentorship project with distinguished playwrights Will Arbery, Billy Finnegan, Jessica Goldberg, Daniel Goldfarb, Suzanne Heathcote, Peter Hedges, Jacquelyn Reingold, Kate Robin and Alexis Sheer culminated in a collection of ten-minute plays that were first presented on Zoom on August 20th, 2023, with noted actors including David Harbour, Cherry Jones, Michael Shannon, Harriet Walter, and Merritt Wever.