Contuning with our Edinburgh Fringe interviews we speak to Uliana Klimchuk who is the writer and performer of SELEDKA. ”In the name of Russia, Seledka and his new troupe are here to stop the war. His goal? Make sure his soldiers eat sleep bleed Soviet. However, his meeting is hijacked by young Ukrainian women recounting tales from the war. Who’s entitled to claim ownership of a country? How different are we from those fighting for their freedom? One-woman show, Seledka, is a political satire written to educate and relate the distant world of Ukraine to audiences who have never had to question what it’s like to live with war. We are more similar than we think.”
How would you describe your show to someone discovering it for the first time at the Fringe?
It is a one-woman political piece about the Russian invasion into Ukraine and all of the pain thatcame with it. Seledka is a Russian general who uses propaganda to get the audience on the “right side of the history”. The play, however, talks about the beauty and resilience of Ukrainian people, who have been so brave in the face of the terrors no one in the XXI century thought was possible. Especially not in the modern world where the news travels at the speed of light. When we all thought we learned the lessons from World War II and yet we repeat history with no second thought.
What moment, idea or frustration first sparked this show into existence?
This play first emerged in my third year at University of North Carolina School of the Arts as an assignment in my Devised Class with Adam Marple, who made all students write their own one-person shows. This inspiration behind my project came from being in the same studio for the past 3 years, sharing lots of vulnerable moments, laughter and tears with my friends and classmates and realizing that most of them wouldn’t be able to point at Ukraine on the map of the world. It made me feel like studying in the US had taught me so much about cultures that are unlike my own, people who are experiencing discrimination based on absurd categorization, and history that felt very distant from my world back home. And yet, at the same time I felt like no one wanted to learn anything about where I can from and our history. So, for the aforementioned assignment I created the character, Seledka, who would point out all of this overlooked information to my friends, without me having to do it directly. Which quickly grew into something larger, a bigger message that I felt I could convey with this play. So the 8 minute workshop became a full length one-woman show.
How has the show evolved from its earliest idea to what audiences will see now?
After the summer of brainstorming and collecting stories I wanted to tell, I called Lily Afghani, my friend and an incredible director, who is also my classmate. Together we developed the play from its original idea to show we’re bringing to Edinburgh. SELEDKA has evolved a lot, had a 5 performance run at UNCSA, as well as performances in Washington, DC, Winston Salem, NC and New York. The rules of the play and the world constantly changed, shifting until we finally felt like it worked. We kept adding props and taking them away, cutting text and adding more, clarifying Seledka as a character and the version of the play that we’re bringing to Edinburgh Fringe is a play we’re proud of. The show now has more audience interaction and less patience for those who don’t follow Seledka’s command.
What makes Edinburgh Fringe the right place for this show right now?
SELEDKA was written as a response to the lack of American knowledge of the Russo-Ukraine war. We’re bringing this play to Scotland in an attempt to question whether our biases are a result of the spread of misinformation, which is not just regional, but global. The world has become desensitized to violence and war, and our circle of outreach has become smaller, other countries have become distant, unfamiliar worlds. In an attempt to grab peace in this rapidly-changing world of constant overstimulation, we have convinced ourselves not only that ignorance is bliss, but it is strength. Inquiry in our surroundings has weakened. What happens when you can’t turn the news off? Seledka wants the audience to start asking questions and never stop. Edinburgh Fringe Festival unites people from all around the world, giving them an opportunity to tell the stories that have a strong motivation for an international audience. We believe the core values of the festival are interwoven in the fabric of our play. And the structure of the event itself provides the perfect petri dish circumstances for fulfilling artistic engagement to occur. It’s the perfect opportunity to have meaningful conversations with the people around you, and hopefully be taught along the way.
What does bringing this particular show to the Fringe represent for you personally?
This is an opportunity to talk about something that has been once a big news headliner and a topic of everyone’s discussion, except after 4 years it became “just another war”. That is not what it feels like for Ukrainians. It became our whole life, or rather lack of it. No one is able to forget about it or move on, because they’ve lost too much and there is no prospect of it being over in the next month. That doesn’t mean the world should stop caring. Quite the opposite right now is the time to shout about the injustice, war crimes and terrors that are happening from every corner and utilize every possible platform. Art might not be able to stop wars, but it definitely changes people. And changing one person is all an artist can hope for.
What has been the most unexpectedly challenging part of getting this show to Edinburgh?
Producing. Given that the whole team of this show is just 3 people – our amazing producer Jake Bryant, brilliant director Lily Afghani, and me, the writer and performer, Uliana Klimchuk. All of us just graduated from an arts school, me and Jake with an acting degree and Lily with a directing degree, so we all know painfully little about what it takes to bring a show to life. However, we’ve been very fortunate to partner with Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts who has provided us with a grant to make this possible. Besides the financial support they have also been very generous with advice and introductions to people who answer if they have none. One of these connections is Producer Hub, our fiscal sponsor. These partnerships have supported us and guided us all along the way. It’s been an incredible learning experience, and having people like that on your side makes you believe you got it, because they have no doubts about it, so neither should you.
If audiences leave the venue holding onto one thing, what do you hope it is?
The idea that there is so much we don’t know and can’t possibly know unless we leave our comfort zones and start asking questions. It’s never too late to learn something about the world and people. Even if you’ve known them forever. Simply ask “What do I not know about you?”
How do you think performing this show during a Fringe run will shape it?
I think it will definitely clarify my personal ideas of what’s funny and what works on an international level. What do people know about and what is misinformation that has been spread in only particular circles? How much is Europe aware of the fact that Ukraine has been acting as a man shield for the rest of the world? I’m excited to see the audience’s reaction. I am especially interested in Ukrainian audience members. In the places we’ve performed before it’s been very unlikely to come across anyone from my country. Edinburgh Fringe however is such a major event in the arts, that I’m sure we will have more representation in the audience. As an actor, I’m also very excited to challenge my stamina and skill with a two week run of a one person show in the midst of the wilderness of the festival.
Who do you hope this show finds at the Fringe?
Audiences interested in the current political state of the world, and who, more importantly, want to do something about it. Also audiences who like to laugh, even if it makes them uncomfortable. People who want to check their own biases and are not afraid to be in the spotlight. We would also love to see reviewers and producers scouting for new work as we would love to keep working on the play and bring it to more stages around the world.
Finally, if this show came with a warning label, what would it say?
Trigger warning: war and all that comes with it.
SELEDKA runs at The Edinburgh Festival Fringe from 17th – 30th August 2026 (except 23rd).