Interview: Lianna Makuch of FIRST METIS MAN OF ODESA at Soulpepper

This week, Soulpepper presents Punctuate! Theatre’s FIRST MÉTIS MAN OF ODESA, which returns to Toronto after a triumphant run last April at the Theatre Centre. Matthew MacKenzie and Mariya Khomutova’s story of a love that blossomed during a theatre research trip to Kyiv and resulted in marriage, immigration and a son in the midst of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and COVID won three Dora Awards for Outstanding New Work, Production, and Direction. BroadwayWorld spoke to Lianna Makuch, the production’s director, about the show’s ability to make global issues personal, its unique design, and how she’s been Matt and Mariya’s “third wheel” from the very beginning.

BWW: The story of FIRST MÉTIS MAN OF ODESA is both very personal and very relevant on a larger, geopolitical scale. How did you approach marrying the personal and the global, and why do you think it resonates so much with audiences?

LIANNA: I think what makes this story so resonant is the human experience. This is a love story told against the backdrop of war. So many great love stories are told against the backdrop of war, and Matt and Mariya’s is a contemporary love story. I think that their authenticity is what has become so resonant with audiences, the fact that this is 100% a true story told by the people who experienced it – and continue to experience it. We see ourselves in Matt and Mariya, two ordinary people whole experienced something extraordinary. And each and every single person experiencing Russia’s war in Ukraine are ordinary people experiencing something “extraordinary.” So these intangible news stories about places that seem so far away suddenly feel much closer. By the end of the play, you feel like you understand what it is that we are fighting for. And are uplifted by this enduring and hopeful love story! 

BWW: Are there any unique challenges to presenting an autobiographical work?

LIANNA: Well, a fun fact for me as the director, is that I am actually the reason why Matt and Mariya met. It was my play Barvinok that Matt was dramaturging which brought us to Kyiv where we met Mariya. She was one of our workshop actors. So I have been witness (and third wheel) to their budding romance from the very beginning! I feel very fortunate to have this inside and intimate perspective going into this directing process. It has been very fun to recreate some of these moments from their early days and theatricalize it all. On the other hand, a lot of the content Matt and Mariya delve into with this story is very personal and vulnerable – often, the world of their play doesn’t end on the stage but the challenges continue at home and on the geopolitical stage. For example, just recently Odesa continues to be heavily bombarded by indiscriminate Russian rocket attacks. As a close friend and someone who cares deeply for Ukraine, I feel uniquely situated to create a safe space for us to explore these topics.  

BWW: In the Theatre Centre production, the design of the show mirrors the story, as Matt and Mariya watch things fall apart and push them back together. Are you working with the same design here, and what was the motivation behind that interactivity?

Lianna: We are! We love our amazing design team who were all so incredibly collaborative in building the show, and the production team who built it all to make it tourable across the country. Yes, it is the same design as the Theatre Centre production. My discussions with the production designer in the early days was around the concept of the “before and after.” After the full-scale invasion, I was shocked and so disturbed by seeing images of places I had been in Ukraine and built relationships with being forever changed. Kyiv’s beautiful Independence Square (Maidan Nezalezhnosti) being marked with anti-tank traps. Odesa’s iconic Opera House being covered with sand bags. A beautiful monastery in Donbas now destroyed by Russian missiles. I was also struck by seeing images of destroyed apartments and homes, peoples kitchens or living rooms now exposed in news article images, and that feeling like this is someone’s life now gone. It is now part of the before and after. So it was important for me for this to be reflected in our world. The set also needed to be a shifting world that spanned the globe. This story is inherently theatrical in many ways in the constantly shifting locations, as well as our heroes as romantic theatre artists! So what better way to reflect this romantic theatricality than create a world inspired by the Odesa Opera House.

BWW: How did you approach shaping Matt and Mariya’s experiences to tell a cohesive story?

LIANNA: For me, it always comes down to how does each moment in the story impact their relationship. That is what makes a story a story and not another news article. From a directorial perspective as we were building the show, that is how I approached creating a cohesive story!

BWW: What do you hope the audience leaves the show thinking and feeling? What impact would you like to make?

LIANNA: I hope people leave feeling uplifted and hopeful for a future filled with love – to understand what it is that we are fighting for, and to not feel indifferent about what is ongoing in Ukraine. We fall in love with Matt and Mariya’s love, and I hope that empathy extends beyond the stage and into the world. 

FIRST MÉTIS MAN OF ODESA runs until May 19 at Soulpepper’s Michael Young Theatre.

Photos of Matthew MacKenzie and Mariya Khomutova by Alexis McKeown. Photo of Lianna Makuch provided by the artist.

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