The Public Theater is set to host a powerful theatrical experience this fall as Kyiv-based Theater on Podil (Театр на Подолі) makes its highly anticipated New York debut with “When the Hurlyburly’s Done”, a new play written and directed by Tony Award winner Richard Nelson. The limited engagement runs September 16–21, 2025, in the Shiva Theater, performed entirely in Ukrainian with English supertitles.
Nelson, known for his acclaimed works including The Apple Family plays, The Gabriels, The Michaels, and Illyria, crafted this deeply personal work specifically for Theater on Podil. “My ambition has been to write a play about six young women putting on a play in the middle of a war, to be performed by six young women putting on this play in the middle of a war,” Nelson said.
Set in 1920 during Ukraine’s struggle for independence, the story follows visionary director Les Kurbas, founder of modern Ukrainian theater, as he leads a troupe of young actors out of war-torn Kyiv into the countryside to perform plays, bartering tickets for food. One of these historic performances is Macbeth — the first Shakespeare production ever staged in Ukrainian.
While Kurbas and most of the troupe attend a local theater performance, six young women — four actresses, a pianist, and a dancer — remain behind with their children. Over a modest meal made from that evening’s earnings, they cook, laugh, share stories, joke, and rehearse dances while grappling with heartbreak, fear, and an unrelenting need for connection amid chaos.
The cast includes Yulia Brusentseva, Kateryna Chikina, Mariia Demenko, Natalka Kobizka, Olena Korzeniuk, and Maria Kos. Scenic and costume design are by Mariia Pohrebniak, with Sergey Nevgadovsky on lighting and Sergey Shevchenko on sound. Vladyslav Tsekhmeistruk and Milada Samoilova serve as stage managers.
“The play is a magnificent artistic response by Richard Nelson to the art of a brave and heroic nation, Ukraine,” said Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director of The Public. “We’re humbled to express our undying solidarity with the theatermakers of Ukraine.”