KC Fringe Fest: Shea Ketchum’s Gulag Girls is an emotionally impactful history lesson

Photo by Taylor Zimmerman

Set in a Soviet Union prison, Gulag Girls delivers the harrowing stories of real women’s experiences. The subject matter is gruesome and reminiscent of the real horrors people, especially women, face during times of political turmoil and tyranny. Despite the hardships endured, Shea Ketchum and the cast also display how the women banded together, laughed, rebelled, and found comfort in each other. 

Playwright Shea Ketchum, who also plays Yelena in the show, was inspired by the true stories of women in these secret police containment zones while visiting Eastern Europe. “My great-grandfather immigrated with his family from Poland. So, it was a trip that I’d always wanted to take that kind of explores my background. I visited a few countries in Eastern Europe just to see some history and maybe learn about different parts of world history that I hadn’t been aware of,” says Ketchum. 

During this trip, she entered a former gulag-turned-museum, and inspiration struck. “In the basement, they had some clip of a documentary or interview playing, and it was three women who were all in their 70s or 80s, talking about their time while they were arrested,” says Ketchum. “And this terrible female guard who would wake them up in the middle of the night and tell them that they were leaving on a train. You know, don’t put clothes on, don’t grab your things. You’re leaving.” These women didn’t know if “leaving” meant a train to another prison or an execution.”

“They were reliving these moments in the documentary, and at one point they have the women go back and kind of visit the museum and enter one of these holding cells… And then they brought in that female guard. I thought that was so interesting. I was like, ‘I want to know these women’s stories, and how interesting would it be to see something like that performed?’,” says Ketchum.  The story follows seven imprisoned women who face The Matron’s wrath daily, living with the same threats and trauma as the women in the interview.

Gulag Girls possesses a group of incredibly strong actresses and one very versatile actor, who plays three different roles. “That was really intentional,” says Ketchum “I wanted it to be about the power of women, and that these women need to just be strong and be one thing. And that, for once, all the doubling was done by the male performer.” The acting from the cast was made even more impressive considering the thick Russian accents they all used. 

“Everyone was so diligent in their study of not only the biographies that gave them the historical background, but accent work as well. So I think just the commitment level all around was so incredible,” Ketchum says. The cast, comprised of all KC locals, delivered some highly impactful performances. There were moments of laughter, hope, and despair, and a scene you thought was going in one direction would completely shift in the opposite direction. 

Not only does this show highlight a harsh, but true history, some proceeds go toward combating the current hardships many face today. “We set up a fundraiser with World Central Kitchen, which is a not-for-profit that I really commend for their work. They are volunteer chefs and cooks, and they go all over the world to areas of crisis,” Ketchum says. “They are the first on the ground free meals for people who have endured natural disasters or man-made conflicts.” The World Central Kitchen is currently providing aid in Ukraine and Gaza, where many are facing food insecurity.

Ketchum hopes to extend Gulag Girls into a full-length production in the near future. “Moving forward after this, I plan to go back, reread my research, and then plow forward with act two and see what I can do with this. Because I’ve gotten a great response, and while it is a hard subject, and can be very tough to view, there’s been a lot of positive feedback,” says Ketchum. 

Gulag Girls will be performed at The Arts Asylum near Brookside on July 26 and 27. Tickets can be purchased on the KC Fringe Fest website or at the box office.