Sitting in a circle the day before opening night, Ukrainian war veterans and drama students took turns reading their lines from a script that travelled centuries to reach them. The actors — men and women in their 20s to 60s — included Ukrainian military veterans who had returned from the front with amputations, severe burns and sight loss. Others had endured war on the homefront. Many had never set foot on a stage before this play.

The production was created by Theater of Veterans, an organization founded by members of Ukraine’s Territorial Defense Forces that provides theatrical training and stage opportunities for former service members as part of their reintegration and recovery.