Ben Gorodetsky grew up in a family of Russian Jewish immigrants so bent on maintaining its heritage he’d have to do pushups every time he uttered an English word in his Vancouver home. He was immersed in Anton Chekhov’s writings, folk music, Jewish fools’ tales, and Russian theatre.

Todd Houseman, on the other hand, grew up an urban aboriginal in Edmonton, his Cree father adopted and raised by a German-Polish family. Houseman spent his youth digging into his Cree roots, reaching out to elders, and learning indigenous stories.

Now the two friends bring their disparate backgrounds together in Folk Lordz, a multicultural comedy-improv duo unlike anything else out there.

“We first gravitated toward each other because of our physical presence on-stage: we saw something familiar in the other weirdo’s approach,” Gorodetsky says with a laugh, speaking to the Straight over the phone with his comedy partner from Edmonton before heading to Vancouver’s Chutzpah Festival. “We both have such a strong interest in our cultural identities. We thought, ‘How can we apply this passion for storytelling?’

“We both found one another as contemporary comedic dudes who can understand the value of history and culturally specific comedic experience.”

“Our personalities are similar on- and off-stage, and then there’s our improv styles and our keenness for preserving our cultures,” adds Houseman.

Gorodetsky traces his passion for his heritage to his parents, whose ancestors had lost their own Yiddish to the Russian ethnic cleansing of the early 20th century. “In Canada, my parents also saw so many in the Russian diaspora who had lost their language. So for them it became very important to preserve their language and their heritage,” he says.

Houseman had to look a little farther to search out his roots. “I grew up off the reserve. I grew up with a lot of questions about my identity and I sought a lot of answers,” he says. “Those questions started in high school, not getting those answers, so I would reach out to elders.

“I’m still very aware that I don’t speak my language, I don’t live on a reserve, and I don’t know how to powwow-dance,” he adds.

The two met after Gorodetsky moved to Edmonton from Vancouver in 2010, when both were members of the Alberta capital’s Rapid Fire Theatre. From there, they decided to form Folk Lordz in late 2013. Their early days were spent doing research in a place seldom associated with comedy: the library.

“We read as many myth stories as we could, and we read lots of Chekhov,” Gorodetsky relates.

At the same time, they shared their learned heritage with each other. Houseman draws a lot from his father’s career in standup comedy, an art form he traces back to the strong Cree tradition of making people laugh. Along the way he picked up all kinds of Russian words, stories, and dishes from Gorodetsky.

“It was the same for Ben,” Houseman adds. “He attended many ceremonies with me.”

As Folk Lordz developed, the pair did even deeper research, heading up to Dene territory in Yellowknife on the advice of Houseman’s father.

“My dad had recently been in that area and told me about the ancient stories there, especially about women hunters, that we were interested in. He said we had to go to this community.”

“That was a hugely enriching experience for both of us,” says Gorodetsky. “I’ve never been in a predominantly indigenous environment—to just sit and listen and cultivate listening.”

All of this intense research comes together in serious comedy on-stage. As Gorodetsky puts it, “It’s cultural homage: it’s totally researched, and there are educational components without it being annoyingly educational.”

When Folk Lordz hits Chutzpah, expect a cultural mashup that weaves in a lot of its laughs from a third element: an audience pop-culture suggestion that Houseman and Gorodetsky work into the mix, whether it’s to do with sci-fi or reality television.

“We get the third genre and highlight the differences,” Gorodetsky explains. “It’s about juxtaposition, where you might have this supercolourful indigenous myth and then this austere and poetically spoken Chekhovian character, and then a sexual character from reality television.”

The result is seat-of-your-pants improv that melds deeply researched cultural components and whacked-out contemporary touchstones. Through this bizarre mix, Folk Lordz manages to build bridges between cultures that are sorely needed in these scarily divided times.

“You feel the effects and feel that hurt and seeming hate,” says Houseman. “I do think of this as an optimistic option. I am reminded that I am doing work that is needed and just and important.”

“It sounds boring to say this,” adds his on-stage partner, “but this is such a Canadian show, with an indigenous perspective and an immigrant perspective. I’m proud of the tolerance and innovation we can bring in a small way to a comedy audience.”