The “Masks” Theater presents the comedy “Odeskyi Podkydysh”

In Odesa, as everyone knows, anything can happen.

Even the unbelievable events unfolding in the comedy “Odeskyi Podkydysh” could very well be real. After all, if you’ve come to Odesa and haven’t laughed, it probably means your ticket was to the wrong city.

The play was written by renowned Odesa author and playwright Heorhii Holubenko, whose works such as “Old Houses”, “The Glitter and Poverty of Moldavanka”, “God’s Smile”, and others have already made a lasting impression on generations of audiences both in Ukraine and abroad. His book “The Red City” (also known as “New Odesa Stories”) quickly became a bestseller among Slavic readers around the world — which, as it turns out, isn’t such a big planet after all.

But times change — and even Odesa humor evolves. It’s becoming subtler, sharper, more thoughtful.

And so Holubenko wrote “Podkydysh” — a grotesque comedy, as always, but now also a parable.
A parable about how a person lives only as long as they are capable of loving.
And to fall in love, sometimes all you need is to look at someone nearby — and, at the same time, at yourself.

What’s funny about that? — you may ask.

Well, try it yourself! We promise: you’ll be laughing out loud — and keep laughing as long as you keep looking.

The author spent a long time searching for actors to play the lead roles in this production. He searched, you could say, across continents — until he finally realized that there is only one continent where such talented and extraordinary actors could exist — and not just talented, but also honored and beloved.
That continent is called Odesa, and the actors are Heorhii Deliiev, Borys Barskyi, and Natalya Buzko.

This incredibly gifted trio can perform grotesque, buffoonery, delicate lyricism — and sometimes say absolutely nothing, yet still captivate the audience entirely.

But the most important thing is this: when these actors come together — as they do in “Podkydysh” — they immediately create an atmosphere on stage unlike anything else.
An atmosphere of a whole new continent.
A place we simply call — in two words — the Spirit of Odesa.