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 and in-person at theaters including 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.