Project Humanity, in association with Crow’s Theatre: The Division. Written & directed by Andrew Kushnir, with Thomas Ryder Payne, sound designer & Christian Horoszczak, lighting designer. With: Daniel Maslany as Andrew Kushnir & Karl Ang, Ivy Charles, Mariya Khomutova & Alon Nashman. April 29, 2026 at Crow’s Theatre, the Studio Theatre. Continues until May 24; tickets here.
The Division is a work of documentary theatre, following the real life odyssey of Andrew Kushnir as he travels the world in an attempt to get to know his grandfather, recently deceased, better. Dyido, as he’s affectionately called, was a watchmaker, in fact, the last clockman for CP Rail in Montréal.
Andrew crosses borders and about 19,000 kilometres in search of answers, only to find a troubling puzzle at the end of it all.
Daniel Maslany and Ivy Charles in Project Humanity/Crow’s Theatre’s The Division (Photo: Dahlia Katz)
The Story
“The older I get, the more Ukrainian I become.”
The story is framed around a letter Andrew’s writing to his nephew, Lev, at the time just six years old. But, as he says, it’s really meant for a future Lev, about 15 years hence, when he’ll be old enough to grasp at least some of the complexities Andrew uncovers.
Andrew’s grandfather, Peter Kushnir, has recently died. Andrew writes a piece in his memory in The Globe and Mail, but it’s a comment that is made on the online version of the article that makes him sit up and take notice.
In the article, Andrew mentions that Peter was a member of the 1st Division of the Ukrainian National Army during World War II. The commenter points out that 1st Division of the Ukrainian National Army was, in fact, the final designation given to the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS — a Nazi division of the army that was created under German sponsorship and made up, ostensibly, of volunteers. It was also responsible for some of the worst horrors committed against Jews and Polish people in the region during the conflict.
Peter, completely unaware of the implications of the 1st Division and its history, can’t wrap his head around the idea of his beloved grandfather as a Nazi soldier. And so, he begins his international trek to find answers.
He brings with him a clock, a beautifully crafted pocket watch that Peter made, as a kind of witness and stand in for his Dyido on the journey.
Andrew begins with family in Montréal, who have mixed reactions. Grandpa, as it turns out, was pretty miserable towards his daughter, and wasn’t entirely the jovial figure Andrew remembers.
“Stick to the watches,” he’s advised.
But, determined to search out the truth, he travels to Ukraine, then traces Peter’s own journey after the war to Italy and a POW camp, Poland, London, and back home to Canada. Along the way, he consults with academics and writers, eye witnesses, and others who fill in some of the details bit by bit.
History is also recreated along the way, including segments depicting a relative who, like Peter, was a soldier and also a poet, who blew himself up rather than face capture by the Soviets.
There are sparks of humour in the play, some of it fairly dark and with a sense of the absurd, including a hilarious recreation of the occasion in 2023 when, during a visit by Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Zelendskyy, 98-year old Ontario resident and former Division member Yaroslav Hunka was welcomed into Canada’s Parliament as a war hero. After receiving a standing ovation in the House of Commons, many people pointed out his history as a member of the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS. The Speaker of the House resigned, and then-Prime Minister Trudeau made a public apology.
Does Andrew get any answers? Several, as it happens. His grandfather was 17 when he enlisted, and while the Division was said to be made up of volunteers, it’s also well known that, towards the end of the war, the German soldiers rounded up their recruits at gunpoint.
That the Division committed and/or assisted in wartime atrocities against Jews and Poles is also beyond doubt. Yet, Peter escaped Ukraine during the final days of the war with the help of Polish soldiers and a priest who made up a false birth certificate. And, Soviet atrocities against the Ukraine are also well documented.
Can both sides of the story be true at the same time? Is survival its own justification?
Performances
Daniel Maslany is entirely believable as Andrew Kushnir, serving as actor, narrator, and emotional centre of the story. His standout performance is a nuanced one, where facial expressions, an anguished tone of voice and other subtle touches, along with a few funny one-liners, flesh out a portrait of someone who wants to understand, yet wants to make/find excuses at the same time, forced, in the end to accept the ambiguities.
The other performers — Karl Ang, Ivy Charles, Mariya Khomutova, and Alon Nashman — serve as an ensemble. They take on a variety of characters, each leaning into their natural strengths. Ang is often a soldier, from the poet to a defiant veteran, convincingly stalwart in uniform. Ivy Charles is a family member, and academics who speak English with various different accents. Mariya Khomutova often portrays a softer side of the feminine, older women and family members, but also a strident reporter. Alon Nashman is perfect as Pierre Polievre, hilarious as Vladimir Putin.
The roles each embodies are too many to count, varying in ages from teenager to senior citizen, with emotions that range from defiance to sorrow and literally everything in between. They’re a supremely talented group, and I was struck by what a juicy acting gig they had.
A standout moment is the family scene in Montréal, where they work together to create the kind of familiar chaos of people who have often opposing viewpoints and energies, but are united by love.
At times, the ensemble also becomes a kind of chorus, punctuating Maslany’s narration with key words or facts that serve to spotlight various concepts and events. At other moments, they are silent background characters who flesh out the scenes and situations Andrew finds himself in.
As a director, Andrew Kushnir deftly moves the group around the rectangular floor space in a variety of ways that come across as naturalistic and unforced. As such, what might have become static narration instead turns into a moving tableau of shifting scenes and situations, each executed with precise timing.
And, I’m not Ukrainian, but they each seemed to speak it convincingly.
Stage & Design
Kushnir’s direction is aided by thoughtful stage design. As the play opens, a nondescript desk sits along one wall, flanked by equally nondescript filing cabinets. The desk is strewn with a variety of items that go along with Peter Kushnir’s watchmaking craft.
As the play progresses, the elements are moved around and transformed. The filing cabinets become seats in a truck, credence tables in a Ukrainian church, and more. A backdrop that begins as a window with dingy orange blinds doubles as a screen that flashes different dates and places as they apply.
There is a smoky haze at some points in the story, and the lighting shifts to move the focus from character to character.
Thomas Ryder Payne’s ingenious soundscape supports the story and enhances atmosphere, often in subtle ways. When the pocket watch first appears, for example, its ticking fills the room.
Some scenes are augmented by the recordings that Andrew made on his trip, or of public events like a conference in California where the 1st Division is discussed. It adds an intriguing texture to the play, and serves to underscore its basis in fact.
Final Thoughts
Andrew’s journey is one that many of us can relate to; an attempt to make sense of a problematic family history. It’s a journey not only through space, but time.
In his case, it’s also fraught with the current climate, where Russia is at war with Ukraine. He’s told many times that “now is not the time” for his inquiry — Ukrainians must seem pure to the international community to counteract the Russian justification of their invasion as “de-Nazification”.
“A nation is a group of people who agree to forget the same things,” one character aptly remarks.
History is a tangled web of truths and stories, where notions of absolute good and bad seldom come into the picture. The Division does a superlative job of illuminating that complexity.
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