Matt and Masha hit it off during a theatre research trip in Ukraine. At first they seem like opposites: Masha loves the sea, Matt loves mountains. Masha is Ukrainian, Matt is Métis. But the passionate spark ignited between them cannot be denied. Despite the improbabilities of a cross-continental relationship, a few fairy-tale visits overseas solidifies their bond. But when it seems distance could be the only obstacle in their path, a series of extreme circumstances put their commitment to the ultimate test.

Based on actual events, First Métis Man of Odesa is the extraordinary true story of a whirlwind romance that withstands a global pandemic, a surprise pregnancy, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Transcending the usual tropes of documentary theatre, this heartwarming how-we-got-together tale turns art of the here and now into a catalyst for action and a hopeful ode for a better future.

Matthew MacKenzie (Métis) is a multi-award-winning playwright. Among his awards and recognition are the National Theatre School’s Quebec Lieutenant Governor’s Award, Tarragon Theatre’s Urjo Kareda Residency, and he was the 2010 Grand Prize recipient of the 44th Alberta Playwriting Competition. Matthew has had nearly a dozen of his works produced in Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, and New York. He is based in Edmonton.

Matthew MacKenzie's profile page

Ukrainian actor and playwright Mariya Khomutova started her theatre studies in Odesa at the age of twelve. She graduated from the Kyiv National Theatre University in 2012 and worked in two repertoire theatres in Kyiv. Her play First Métis Man of Odesa, which she co-wrote and performed with her husband Matthew MacKenzie, received three 2023 Dora Mavor Moore Awards, and brought her an Outstanding Performance nomination. After February 24, 2022, Mariya concentrates her theatre work around promoting contemporary Ukrainian playwrights’ voices to the world theatre community.

Mariya Khomutova's profile page

Lianna Makuch is a Ukrainian Canadian theatre artist. She has travelled to Ukraine to research and develop her plays Barvinok and Alina, gaining awards and recognition from both the theatre and Ukrainian communities. Lianna’s directorial debut, First Métis Man of Odesa, received a Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Direction and has been seen on stages nationwide. She is an avid Ukrainian activist and has been recognized as one of 50 Canadian Fellows of Ukraine by the UDonation International NGO, listed in Edify Edmonton’s Top 40 Under 40, and her theatre work has been referenced in the House of Commons.

Lianna Makuch's profile page

• Winner, Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Play

“Many of the best tales in the show are so deeply improbable, or so straightforwardly honest, that the plot lines could never have held up as fiction; but as the true stories they are, they triumph.”

Julia Peterson, Saskatoon StarPhoenix

“A star-crossed, windswept, war-torn romcom that waltzes back and forth across the threshold that separates dreams from nightmares.”

Ben Waldman, Winnipeg Free Press

“For all its full-blown drama, First Métis Man of Odesa retains a dreamy charm without ever letting go of the truth.”

Liane Faulder, Edmonton Journal