Soulpepper Theatre is currently staging the much-anticipated return of First Métis Man of Odesa, a production by Edmonton’s Punctuate! Theatre that has captivated audiences across seven cities in its 2023 national tour. Written and performed by award-winning playwright Matthew MacKenzie and his wife, celebrated Ukrainian actress Mariya Khomutova, the autobiographical play recounts their unlikely international love story, which blossomed and then bloomed despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In the 90-minute two-person production, which is deftly directed by Lianna Makuch, Matt (Matthew MacKenzie) and Masha (Mariya Khomutova) narrate and re-enact their tale with warmth, wit, wisdom . . . and a sense of creeping urgency that is born from the mounting hurdles posed to their international romance. The story opens with Matt’s documentary-making trip to Ukraine, and the couple’s comical first reactions when they meet — and from that slender, sweet beginning, the two – with the aid of two chairs, two curtains, and dynamic, atmospheric projection design provided by Amelia Scott – dramatize how they wove a shared life story from the union of their diverse cultural backgrounds.
Matt, who is a compulsive writer, theatre artist and producer, embraces his Métis heritage and Edmonton roots — just as Masha, a dedicated 7th-generation Odesan, is deeply connected to her region’s cultural legacy. Despite ideological differences, such as Masha’s appreciation for Russian playwrights vs Matt’s critical view of Russia’s historical actions, their bond deepens over time. And as they navigate personal and global crises — including the global pandemic, geographical separations, unexpected parenthood, and the war in Ukraine — their story shifts from a personal narrative to a broader commentary on resilience and hope, culminating in a poignant reflection on Ukraine’s ongoing struggle for sovereignty.
The play skillfully balances their high personal stakes – emotional, spiritual and familial — with broad and weighty themes like war, migration, and cultural identity, offering a narrative that is at once intimate and universally relevant.
In a revealing discussion, MacKenzie and Khomutova share insights into the genesis, challenges and impact of their collaborative creation, illuminating their experiences and the intense relevance of this award-winning work that audiences simply cannot get enough of.
A theatrical journey
The idea to transform their life into art first struck MacKenzie during a moment of reunion and uncertainty. “On the first flight out of Canada to Europe after the pandemic lockdown, having to take the leap and hope that I could sneak into Ukraine to be reunited with Mariya, the thought dawned on me that what we were going through could become a play,” explains MacKenzie. “But I, of course, had no idea what else life had in store for us,” he reflects – for soon, the full-scale invasion of Ukraine would compel him to process his experiences through writing, even though a playwright friend warned him that it might strain their marriage.
For her part, Khomutova initially viewed their story as something personal, to be shared among only friends and family. “There was a thought in the back of my mind when we told the story of our meeting and marriage in Ukraine for the 25th time in a row, that it would be nice to write it all out and send to our friends and family as an email, at least,” she smiles. “But it was not a serious thought. And that was before 2022.” After the invasion, she did an about-face: she questioned the appropriateness and need for their narrative in a theatrical form.
The process of creating First Métis Man of Odesa proved to be both a professional challenge and a personal journey for the couple. “It’s wild to be performing a story about our lives that we are still very much living, with the war in Ukraine ongoing and worsening, and my mother-in-law Olga still living with us in Toronto,” MacKenzie admits. But this collaboration has helped them navigate continuously tumultuous times: “We each have gained a much deeper understanding of what the other was thinking during our courtship, time apart after learning Mariya was pregnant, and since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.”
For Khomutova, working on the play was akin to therapy. “We took coffees, went to the office, and sat at one table for 3-4 hours every day, in total silence, writing and sharing what we just wrote,” she describes. The process “was revealing”: through it, they saw each other anew. It also provided her a therapeutic space to articulate and process her complex feelings as a new mother and wife in a war-torn world. Though it was a lot to digest, she says, “I will never be tired of repeating that this theatre work saved our marriage – and me, personally. In spite of the crazy national tour, with all the logistics and travelling with our 2-year-old son, my mom and a dog, I think it actually made us stronger as a family – although it could easily have gone the other way.”
Integrating global and personal crises
Both playwrights were intent on focusing their narrative around their love story, using the global crises as a backdrop. “Nobody wants to be reminded or dwell on how awful the pandemic was, and we are not living in Ukraine under threat from Russia every day,” explains MacKenzie. By centering their personal story, they sought to honour and reflect the broader experiences of their friends and family in Ukraine — without appropriating those experiences.
Khomutova remains torn: “I still don’t know if I had any right to talk about the war from the theatre stage, having no experience of it.” But she felt an urgent need for such discussions to take place in “every available public space in the world. And I wanted to do it with as much respect to those who are going through it, and to the audience, as possible.”
Surprisingly to them, the play resonated far beyond their expectations. MacKenzie knew they had a built-in audience: “I thought we would do well with the Ukrainian and Ukrainian Canadian communities, who are great supporters of ours to be sure. But what has been surprising is how much this story has resonated universally, with folks from all sorts of different backgrounds.” He attributes this wide-reaching resonance to the underlying humanity and relatability of their story. “There’s a meme that has gone around for years, that says, ‘be kind to people because you don’t know what they’re carrying’. And we have had so many different people share their own improbable love stories, or tales of hardship fleeing conflict, in different parts of the world.” Speaking of the show’s reception, a smiling Khomutova says simply, “I was so happy!” She finds great fulfillment in the audience’s willingness to engage with both the serious subject matter and the romantic, lighter personal notes.
The characters of Matt and Masha in the play, which distill aspects of the real MacKenzie and Khomutova, embody themes of resilience and joy that resonate deeply with the couple – and have a deeply personal significance. “Our son Ivan brings so much joy into our lives,“ explains MacKenzie. “Mariya had the wonderful idea that our play in some ways is a letter to Ivan: to let him know what was happening in the world and to his family when he was just a baby.” And for Khomutova, sharing that letter onstage is an act of intense, empowering bravery: “The whole fact that I decided to talk about my personal life, with my own words, from a stage in a new country, with English as a second language, is incredibly vulnerable.”
Humanizing the Ukrainian Experience
MacKenzie has two simple aspirations for the play. First, he hopes that it has helped to humanized distant news reports and “put a more human face on” the war and suffering in Ukraine. “When all you hear in the news is a litany of atrocities in places you may never have heard of, or can’t pronounce, it is easy to disassociate,” he notes. “But when audiences see that we are just a little family living in Cabbagetown trying to navigate these major world events, it suddenly begins to connect and resonate.”
“Yes, the human face of it!” nods Khomutova. “The amount of information we receive every day is enormous; it makes us feel overwhelmed, sometimes. If this play can help Ukraine to stay in the hearts of people for another night or two, being empathetic and doing something concrete and small for those who need it, then it is super-precious. I couldn’t ask for more.”
His second “hope is that Canadians see this play as a celebration of difference”. And clearly, this hope has become a reality. First Métis Man of Odesa resonates so deeply with audiences because of the love story at its core and its hopeful message about the power of cultural and personal connections to transcend geopolitical barriers. The couple’s story highlights “the “complex, varied, messy and blurry” interweaving of identities and cultures. And MacKenzie emphasizes how Ukrainians and Indigenous people don’t live in their own separate bubbles: “In our case, our son is both Ukrainian and Indigenous, and this is something we want to celebrate. It seems that there is a lot of rigid line-drawing going on in the world right now, but that line drawing doesn’t align with many people’s lived realities.”
Khomutova also celebrates the dual perspectives that they bring to the stage. “Matt embraces the more Indigenous/North American part of the audience, and its mentality and traditions. I speak more to the Ukrainian/Eastern European one.” While those mentalities are different, they each want deeply to hear the other– and they love each other — even though it can be painful sometimes. She heralds their marriage as “just a small model of” how “we need to be heard and loved, no matter how hard it is when the world is going through such dramatic turbulent times.”
First Métis Man of Odesa is on stage at Soulpepper Theatre until May 19, 2024. This deeply moving exploration of love, hope and resilience that transcends geography and crisis will bring a tear to your eye and a cheer to your lips. This return engagement is a welcome and long-awaited chance for Toronto audiences to discover it for the first time . . . or be captivated once again. For tickets and information about free ancillary events, visit soulpepper.com.
© Arpita Ghosal, SesayArts Magazine, 2024
