After the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, a group of Ukrainian students met over Zoom with New York-based writer Laura Cahill to write plays in response to war. YPU has continued to work together for three and a half years. The writers have been mentored by distinguished playwrights and worked with noted actors and directors. Their plays have been performed on Zoom for an international audience or in-person at The Tank, the Vineyard Theatre, and The Segal Theatre in New York, Orion Theatre in Stockholm, Ukraine Fringe in Kyiv, La Grange Theater in Dorset Vermont, Lex-Ham Theater in Minneapolis, Cockpit Theater in London and as far away as West Bengal, India.
The plays are a part of Worldwide Ukrainian Readings and have been published by Smith & Kraus.