About this Event
Diary of War is a documentary theater performance highlighting the harrowing and inspiring experiences of Ukrainians affected by Russia’s full-scale invasion. After multiple sold-out events in New York, Washington, D.C., and Dublin, join us at Yale's 53 Wall St Auditorium for this moving performance and hear true stories of Ukrainian fight for freedom.
The Yale premiere of Diary of War on February 24, 2027 marks exactly five years since February 24, 2022.. Each story in Diary of War begins on that day, with what its narrator felt, feared, and suddenly understood as the full-scale invasion began. On this anniversary, the audience will return to that morning together with the diarists, and live through these stories alongside Ukrainians.
Rooted in the Diary of War documentary podcast by , a Ukrainian cultural activist, TIME Next Generation Leader, and Fulbright scholar at Yale University, the project has grown into a series of impactful performances, transforming true stories into profoundly moving theatrical experiences. It captures the raw, emotional stories of Ukrainians living through Russia’s full-scale war, offering a window into the personal impact of the ongoing invasion.
Since February 2024, Diary of War benefit readings produced by Kolomiec have repeatedly sold out venues in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Dublin, raising over $170,000 for Ukrainian volunteer organizations that conduct frontline medical evacuations and support female veterans.
Directed by , the reading at 53 Wall Street Auditorium will feature stage and screen actors bringing to life the testimonies of seven Ukrainians whose lives were irrevocably changed by the war:
- Iryna Tsybukh (call sign “Cheka”), a film producer and project manager in civilian life, describes her work as a combat medic with the Hospitallers volunteer medical battalion, evacuating wounded soldiers from the hottest spots on the front line. She was killed during her rotation in May 2024.
- Olena Nikulina, wife of Azov Regiment soldier Maksym Nikulin, describes learning she was pregnant with their second child while her husband was trapped at the Azovstal steel plant, surrounded by Russian forces.
- Denys Khrystov, a former TV host, recounts evacuating hundreds of people and animals from the war zone. Some of the towns he reached on his evacuation missions no longer exist.
- Julia Kochetova, a photojournalist who regularly works in Ukraine’s most dangerous places, reports on Russian war crimes. Her work earned her an Emmy in 2023 and a World Press Photo Award in 2024.
- Olha Bulkina describes her work as a hospital clown at Kyiv’s Okhmatdyt, Ukraine’s largest children’s hospital, which was struck by a Russian missile in July 2024.
- Marat Shevchenko, a stagehand and DJ, tells how he fled his occupied hometown of Kupiansk on an old motorcycle, carrying his Ukrainian vinyl records and his vyshyvanka, a traditional embroidered shirt.
- Yurii Marchenko, a Ukrainian journalist, storyteller, and editor-in-chief of Platfor.ma, a media and creative agency for social projects, recounts losing his pet pug because he could not get timely veterinary care during the first weeks of the full-scale war.
Сast: to be announced.
Attendees will be welcomed with a rare Ukrainian folk song performed by Ulana Pryjmak and Laryssa Czebiniak of Ukrainian Village Voices, a beloved New York ensemble.
One of the central figures of Diary of War is Iryna Tsybukh, a combat medic who served with the Hospitallers. She was killed by Russian forces in May 2024, just days before her 26th birthday. Posthumously awarded Ukraine’s highest honor, the title of Hero of Ukraine, and mourned across the nation, Tsybukh was a close friend of Kolomiec. Since her death, every Diary of War reading has been dedicated to her memory.
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Agenda
🕑: 07:00 PM - 09:30 PM
Diary of War
Event venue & nearby stays
53 Wall St, 53 Wall Street, New Haven, United States
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