Eighteen months ago, Alina Sarnatska was working as a combat medic on Ukraine’s front lines, even during the brutal battle for Bakhmut, and had rarely set foot in a theater. Just six months later, she was getting ready to attend the premiere of her first play in Kyiv. Now, at 38, Sarnatska has written several dramas and is becoming one of Ukraine’s most compelling theatrical voices.
This rapid change is remarkable for someone who, despite loving writing as a child, thought of playwrights as distant figures like Shakespeare, not someone like her. She credits the war for her swift rise. “I believe the Russians might kill me in a few years, by drones, rockets, or in the street,” she said. “So I don’t have time to waste. I have to do everything now, right here.”
Her debut play, Military Mama, was one of 15 chosen for the Theatre of Veterans program. This initiative, co-founded by playwright Maksym Kurochkin—who also fought in Luhansk in 2022—aims to turn soldiers and veterans into playwrights, bringing their war experiences to the stage. Sarnatska was selected from an open call, and Military Mama stood out, earning a production at Kyiv’s Left Bank theater.
The play explores an ordinary woman’s army life, touching on motherhood, military sexism, broken relationships, mental health struggles, and desertion—topics often overlooked in official accounts of the war. Her honest writing and refusal to stick to uplifting, simplistic themes haven’t always been well-received. During a performance of her award-winning play Balance in Dnipro, which depicts the grim realities of a battlefield medic, local priests and officials complained to the theater.
“After the show, the director apologized for the swearing and realism,” Sarnatska recalled. “But it didn’t help—theater representatives were called to the city administration and reprimanded because the play was sad, not heroic, and contained strong language.”
Yet audiences appreciate her raw portrayal of frontline life. After a summer performance of Military Mama in Kyiv, some viewers were moved to tears, and the cast joined a discussion afterward. One woman with a husband at the front and a father of a veteran thanked the actors for shedding light on life in the trenches.
Sarnatska noted that soldiers see themselves in the play because it reflects everyday military life. However, it also criticizes civilians who remain unaware of the horrors soldiers face. In post-show talks, she’s been asked if she hates civilians. “Every time, I stay silent,” she said, letting the more diplomatic director handle the question.
Her latest work, Penelope, inspired by the patient wife of Odysseus in Homer’s Odyssey, premiered this summer at the Lesya Ukrainka Theater in Lviv. It focuses on women waiting for their loved ones to return from war, featuring seven female actors and directed by Svitlana Fedeshova.”I could write a heroic story and pretend everything is fine,” she said about the play. “But I don’t want a woman waiting for her husband to come to the theater, see a fairytale that tells her everything is okay, and then leave still waiting. That’s what I want to avoid.”
Before Russia’s full-scale invasion, Sarnatska—who had worked as a sex worker for several years, including while studying for a psychology degree—was collaborating with NGOs as a social worker. She supported female victims of violence and those struggling with substance addiction, while also advocating for sex workers’ rights.
Since leaving military service, she has been pursuing her PhD, organizing protests to improve soldiers’ rights, and working with a network that supports wounded soldiers and their families. Currently, she is on a writing residency in Germany, where she is working on a novel.
Before being accepted into the Theatre of Veterans program, she admitted she knew nothing about theater or playwrights. “I knew Shakespeare was a dramatist, and that’s it,” she said. However, during her time as a combat medic, she frequently posted on social media, often writing sharp and memorable dialogues as part of her fundraising efforts for her unit. It was these dialogues that prompted a friend to encourage her to apply to the Theatre of Veterans.
Despite this, she still isn’t much of a theater enthusiast herself. “I hate theater,” she stated. “Okay, I’ve seen some interesting things by now, but it’s not how I’d choose to spend my free time.” Her writing inspiration, in fact, is the novelist Stephen King. “If you write a good story, it will work on the stage,” she remarked.
Another play, titled “Menstruation,” is set to premiere at the end of the year at Molodyy Theatre in Kyiv. It explores the experiences of sex workers during the turmoil of the 2022 invasion—stories that have rarely been shared publicly in Ukraine.
She has also recently finished a play called “Fat,” which alternates between the present day and the 1930s. It draws connections between disordered eating in modern Ukraine and the Holodomor, the man-made famine under Stalin’s brutal grain quotas that claimed up to 3 million lives in 1932-33.
Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of FAQs about the Ukrainian playwright and combat medic I must do everything now in a clear and natural tone
Basic Questions
1 Who is I must do everything now
Thats the pen name of Natalya Blok a Ukrainian playwright screenwriter and former combat medic who served on the front lines
2 Why is their name a sentence and not a regular name
Its an artistic pseudonym The phrase I must do everything now captures a sense of urgency and responsibility reflecting the intense reality of their experiences during the war
3 What are they most famous for
They are most famous for their play The Guide for a Female Combat Medic which is based on their own experiences and has been performed internationally
4 Did they really serve as a combat medic
Yes absolutely They volunteered and served as a combat medic in the Donbas region providing critical frontline medical care to soldiers
About Their Work Experience
5 What is their play The Guide for a Female Combat Medic about
Its a powerful autobiographical play that uses dark humor and raw honesty to depict the daily life challenges and emotional toll of being a woman on the front lines
6 How did their experience as a medic influence their writing
It made their writing incredibly immediate and authentic They write about war not as a theoretical concept but from the direct personal perspective of someone who has lived through its trauma and absurdity
7 Are there English translations of their work
Yes their work has been translated into several languages including English The Guide for a Female Combat Medic is their most wellknown translated piece
8 Whats the main message in their writing
A central theme is the human experience within the machinery of warfocusing on resilience the fragility of life and the oftenoverlooked role of women in conflict
Deeper More Specific Questions
9 How does their work differ from traditional war stories
It often breaks from a purely male soldiercentric narrative It focuses on the perspective of a caregiver in the chaos blending the horrific with the mundane and using a unique personal voice
10 What challenges did they face as a female combat medic
Theyve spoken about facing sexism and having to
