30 October 2026, 10:35
The chief designer of the Young Audience Theater has passed away in Odesa
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Mykola Vilkun, chief set designer of the Odessa Academic Theater for Young Audiences and Honored Artist of Ukraine, has died at the age of 89. He designed sets for more than 300 productions in Odessa and other cities across Ukraine.
The artist’s death was announced by the press office of the Odessa Academic Theater for Young Audiences.
A farewell ceremony for Mykola Vilkun will take place on October 31 at 9:30 a.m. at the theater. The funeral service and burial are scheduled for 12:00 p.m. at the church in the Second Christian Cemetery.
Mykola Vilkun studied at the Odesa Theater and Art School, majoring in “set and prop design.” In 1960, he began working at the Odesa Puppet Theater and later moved to the Odesa Ukrainian Music and Drama Theater.
He first became the chief designer of the Odessa Theater for Young Audiences in 1971 and held that position until 1976. In 1991, he returned to the theater, where he remained until 2026.
Over the years, Vilkun designed sets for more than 300 productions. Among them were “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” “Backyard Games,” “The Marriage,” “Valentine’s Night,” “The Best Carlson,” and “Filumena Marturano.”
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Currently, the theater continues to stage productions featuring his set designs—*The Kaidashev Family*, based on the work by Ivan Nechuy-Levytsky, and *Cinderella: The Glass Slipper* by Yevgeniya Sevirina.
The theater expressed its condolences to the artist’s family, loved ones, and friends, noting that his work will live on in the memories of audiences and colleagues.
