In a metro station converted into a bomb shelter in Kharkov, in the northeast of Ukraine, two puppeteers make puppets come to life in a fairy tale, under the enchanted gaze of a dozen children and their parents.
A whole cast of puppets, including a king with a mustache and a herd of pigs, come to life under the expert hands of Oleksandra Shlykova and Anton Andriouchchenko to tell the story of ‘other’ princesses. A way to make children and their parents forget the numerous Russian bombings of Ukraine’s second largest city.
Using their cell phones, the puppeteers provoke a few laughs and even exclamations from their captivated audience. At the end of the show, Oleksandra bows to this small crowd and invites the children to come and play with the dolls.
“Live performance is always an emotion that is in the here and now”says Oleksandra Shlykova. “We exchange our emotions and we find our good mood. It’s hard to describe it, you have to feel it.”
In Moscow’s crosshairs since Russian President Vladimir Putin announced he was withdrawing his troops from the Kiev region to focus on eastern Ukraine, Kharkiv has faced deadly strikes every day. The metro stations of this city, just 21 kilometers from the Russian border, have been transformed into huge underground shelters.
According to local authorities, two people were killed and 18 others injured in a bombing raid on the city center on Saturday. And from the same source, 10 people were killed and 35 others injured in a strike against a residential area on Friday.
In subway stations, mattresses and blankets rub next to clothes, toys, toiletries. The carriages have been converted into dormitories.
For Oksana, 37, the puppet show was a welcome relief. “Truth and humor, it gives you a boost (of energy) and makes you happy”, said this mother accompanied by her two daughters. They live in an underground shelter not far from there, but made the journey so as not to miss the puppeteers. “When you attend this show, you remember the stories and then the way you look at the world changes”she says.
On the other side of town, another show takes place, this time of poetry, in a white-stone bunker, where makeshift beds are piled up. Serguiï Jadan reads some couplets, with a melody in the background, under purple neon. Before him, a small assemblage attentively follows the lyrical and surrealistic monologue, with enigmatic animal figures.
This poem is a “cheeky lullaby”, that was inspired by a children’s book, says Serguiï Jadan, a celebrity from the Ukrainian literary scene, where poetry is a national sport.
“A person cannot live with war alone”he said. “It is very important (for Ukrainians) to hear a word, to be able to sing together, to express a certain emotion.”
