Ukraine | Laughing against the war

Can you act, tell jokes, be cheerful, and show humor during wartime? For Boris Barsky, this question doesn't arise. Comedian Barsky is the director, lead actor, and scriptwriter of the comedy troupe Masky Show, which resides in the House of Clowns in the "Embassy of Humor." The group has been together with almost the same lineup since 1984. Twenty-two years ago, the city of Odessa granted them a building on Olgiewska Street, on the edge of the historic Old Town.

This evening is about a marriage that's functioning more poorly than well. And so the husband, played by Barskij, longs for nothing more than his wife's death. And indeed, she does. But now the man who has lost his wife is wallowing in nostalgia for her. All the arguments and boring evenings are forgotten. Now his new companion is alcohol. But as if by a miracle, his wife, believed to be dead, comes back to life. And the argument from the past enters the next round.

90-minute break from war

The 300 female viewers—there are hardly any men in the audience—laugh and enjoy the humor, the lighting, the expressive scenes, and, of course, the lead actor, Boris. It's 90 minutes in which no one thinks about the war .

"How can you be cheerful and show humor in war?" the question is directed at Boris Barsky. "For me, war is the worst thing in the world," the comedian replies. "I can well understand women who despair after losing their husband, father, or brother."

In 2014, the collective decided to stop performing on the Black Sea peninsula in protest against Russia's annexation of Crimea. Even after the attack on February 24, 2022, Barskij remained in Odessa, even though he could have fled. "I will never forget the first days of the war," he says.

Odessa has changed because of the war

Odessa has changed a lot in the past three years , he reports. Many people have moved away. At the same time, many internally displaced people from the Donbass now live in Odessa. And they also shape the streetscape.

Barskij performs only in Russian. "I speak fluent Ukrainian," he says. However, when he speaks Ukrainian, he first translates each sentence "with my inner Google translator." As a result, his Ukrainian doesn't sound as authentic, or as emotional, as his native Russian. Thanks to Barskij's persistence, the House of Clowns is the only theater in Ukraine where all plays are performed exclusively in Russian. Ukrainian subtitles for the spoken lines are displayed on the ceiling, but no one looks at the ceiling. In Odessa, Russian is understood.

Active against the demolition of monuments and street renaming

And so it is no coincidence that in October 2024, Barskij, along with 115 public figures, turned to UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay to ask her to take a stand against the demolition of monuments and to put a stop to the renaming of streets .

Among the signatories are the world-famous pianist Alexei Botvinov, the sculptor Mikhail Reva, the Caucasus specialist Thomas de Waal, the journalist Leonid Shtekel, the Kharkiv architect Maxim Rozenfeld and the artist Olga Yarova.