New York, Donetsk, Ukraine: 100° F is a stark, poetic monologue set amid the destruction of the small Ukrainian town of New York in the Donetsk region. The play follows a soldier known by the call sign “Raccoon,” who reflects on war, identity, and survival while stationed at the front. Interwoven with a chorus listing the relentless destruction of buildings, communities, and lives, Raccoon recounts intimate details of life in the trenches, including illness, exhaustion, and the quiet disintegration of a relationship with his boyfriend who serves alongside him. Blending dark humor, vulnerability, and brutal honesty, the play offers a deeply personal account of war’s psychological toll while confronting themes of masculinity, queerness, and the absurdity of trying to make meaning in the face of overwhelming loss.

Oleksandr Zhuhan is a director, actor, and acting teacher. He attended Kyiv National Linguistic University, taught at the Black Square children’s theater studio, and is a co-founder of the PostPlay Theater in Kyiv. He holds degrees in psychological and philological education. He is the author of essays and diaries that were included in the 4.5.0 anthology of military literature. His dramatic works include: The Gospel of Housewives and Reptiles (staged at the Theater of Playwrights in Kyiv). He enlisted in the Armed Forces of Ukraine at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, and served as a senior mortar gunner of the 241st brigade. He took part in battles in the Kherson, Kharkiv, and Donetsk regions, and participated in the defense of Bakhmut, Toretsk, and Mar’inka. After leave for being wounded in the summer of 2025, he returned to the army and continues to serve as a medic. New York, Donetsk, Ukraine: 100° F was a winner at the Ukrainian Short Drama Competition-2024, and was short-listed at the Contemporary Play Week in Kyiv in 2025. Its English-language premiere took place in May 2025 in a staged reading performed by Voyage Theater Company in New York City.