THE DIVISION - REVIEW OF 2026 PRODUCTION AT CROW’S THEATRE

Reviewed by James Karas

The Division is a stunning play written and directed by Andew Kushnir. It is a family saga, more specifically the search by Kushnir of the story of his grandfather Petro Kushni. Petro was a talented watchmaker and he gave Andrew an intricate pocket watch. Petro fought in World War II in Ukraine when he was a young man and emigrated to Canada. Andrew had wonderful memories of his beloved grandfather and when he died, he wrote a eulogy about him in The Globe and Mail. Someone sent a letter pointing out that Petro was a member of the murderous SS Waffen in Ukraine and may have participated in the holocaust of Jews and Poles during the war.

That startling comment sent Andrew in search of his grandfather’s past and more specifically his membership in the SS Waffen also known as the Galicia Division. which was made up of Ukrainian volunteers serving under German officers.

The play has a cast of five actors, Karl Ang, Ivy Charles. Mariya Khomutova, Daniel Maslany and Alon Nashman. Maslany plays Andrew Kushnir. The other four of this incredibly talented group play numerous roles of people in his family and that he met in his research. Kushnir opens and  structures the play round the writing of a letter to his nephew who is only three years old. He is writing the letter today intending it to be read about 15 years later when his nephew is of age.

The drama unfolds  from before World War II in Ukraine with the extended Kushnir family history  to life in Canada and Andrew’s subsequent search for information about Petro. The actors take on roles of family members right up to his interview with an elderly Polish couple, played beautifully by Mariya Khomutova and Alon Nashman.  They are living outside Liverpool, England. The  man of 97 years and his wife are frail and decent people and in a long and moving scene recall atrocities including the mass murders of Polish people by Ukrainians. The reason: hatred.

The cast of the Division: Karl Ang, Ivy Charles, Daniel Maslany, 
Mariya Khomutova & Alon Nashman. Photo by Dahlia Katz

There is no doubt that Petro was a member of the 1st Division of the Ukrainian National Army but as the letter writer to the Globe and Mail noted it is better known in the West as German 14 Waffen Division SS Galizien. Andrew does not uncover any evidence of his grandfather’s involvement  in mass murders.

Kushnir, as the author and director of the play, writes about himself. His family and his search about his grandfather. He asks if Ukraine will still exist as a nation fifteen years from now and if Ukrainians can ever forgive Russia for its current atrocities against his country. The Ukrainians had every reason to hate the Russians before World War II. During the 1930’s Stalin deliberately set out to destroy millions of Ukrainians because they did not cooperate with his collectivization plans. The actions that he took to destroy the national aspirations of the people has been rightly classified as a genocide. Was it ten million or four million? What is the difference?

In the 19^th century, Russia forbade the teaching of Ukrainian in Ukraine in order to suppress their nationalist aspirations and make them Russians. The famine and the suppression of Ukraine were within recent memory during World War II. Is it probable that the young Ukrainians including the 17-year old Petro Kushnir volunteered to join the 1^st Division of the Ukrainian National Army as a statement about how he felt about Russia and not as an expression of support for Hitler?  They probably knew very little if anything about the holocaust. Did Germany look like a good ally against monstrous Russia?

Sim Suzer and Niloufar Ziaee provide intelligent designs for the small playing area with only several pieces of furniture and projections of maps to illustrate points of interest.

The play is powerful, moving and captivating. Andrew Kushnir has honored his grandfather, his family and Ukraine while spitting at Putin and Russia. He has won a significant badge of honor. He is not allowed to set foot in Russia.

The Division written and directed by Andrew Kushnir in a production by Project: Humanity & Pyretic Productions in association with Crow’s Theatre will run until May 17, 2026, at Crow’s Theatre Studio, 345 Carlaw Avenue, Toronto, Ontario.  http://crowstheatre.com/

James Karas is the Culture Editor of The Greek Press, Toronto.