The Reckoning: a documentary play about the war in Ukraine opens in London

From 29 May to 28 June, the world premiere of The Reckoning, a documentary play created by British company Dash Arts in collaboration with Public Interest Journalism Lab, will run at Arcola Theatre in London.

Directed by Josephine Burton and written by Burton together with Ukrainian playwright Anastasiia Kosodii, the play is based on real witness testimonies collected as part of The Reckoning Project. These are stories of people who survived the Russian occupation of Stoyanka, Blystavytsia, Kramatorsk and Snihurivka. The witnesses are not fictional characters — they are real people. Every voice is authentic. Every story is preserved in the name of memory, justice and humanity.

At the heart of the narrative is the meeting of a journalist and a man from Stoyanka — a security guard who stayed in his village during heavy fighting. He chooses not to flee and becomes both a witness and, eventually, a protagonist in a story recorded for courts, archives and future generations.

The Reckoning combines drama, documentary storytelling, music, movement — and even cooking. After each performance, audiences are invited to stay for Food for Thought conversations featuring journalists, human rights defenders, lawyers and people with lived experience of war.

The show runs Monday to Saturday at 7:00 PM, with additional matinees at 3:30 PM on Saturdays. Press night will take place on 4 June.

The creative team includes composer Anton Baibakov, food consultant Olia Hercules, set designer Zoë Hurwitz, and many others. Testimony consultants for the production are Nataliya Gumenyuk and Peter Pomerantsev.

Tickets available at Arcola Theatre