Puppets and poetry go underground in besieged city of Kharkiv

Two flamboyant puppeteers perform a tabletop fairytale for a gaggle of spellbound children in a subterranean metro station serving as a bomb shelter in eastern Ukraine.

Oleksandra Shlykova and Anton Andriushchenko enthrall children and their parents with a cast of caricature dolls, including a mustachioed monarch and a herd of pigs, as they recount the narrative of how “Princesses are different.”

They’re also diverting their attention away from the near-constant bombardments falling on Kharkiv from above as Russia increases its operation in eastern Ukraine.

Using a mobile phone sound system the pair elicit giggles and gasps from their audience perched on steps lined with cardboard — an auditorium improvised to prevent the cold and damp from seeping into their bones.

“A live performance is always an emotion that is here and now,” said 47-year-old Shlykova after concluding the show with a flourished bow and inviting the children to play with the puppets.

“We exchange emotions and it lifts our spirits. It’s hard to describe it, you have to feel it.”

– The underground hideout –
Deep underground, the metro stations of Kharkiv are now home to residents of the eastern metropolis fearful of the battle raging above.

Since pulling back from its northern offensive to capture the capital of Kyiv, the Kremlin has scaled up attacks on Ukraine’s eastern flank, including Kharkiv just 21 kilometers (13 miles) from the Russian border.

On Friday, the shelling of residential areas of the city killed 10 people. On Saturday, a strike claimed two more lives.

The walkways of the metro stations are now lined with bedding and mounds of belongings. The stationary carriages have been divided into makeshift homes.

Toiletries line the train windows and inhabitants pry open the sliding doors to access their spaces. The main walkway smells of the soup being ladled out to those living here.

“When you watch this performance you remember the stories and you alter the way you see the world,” said 37-year-old Oksana, who brought her two daughters to the show.

They are living in an underground shelter nearby and came over to this one to escape the grim tale unfolding above.

“Truth and humor give you a boost and make you happy,” said Oksana, who declined to give a surname.

– Poetic escapism –

Poetry performance is taking place across town in a white brickwork bunker, past a shabby workshop, down some tight stairs.

There are also a lot of makeshift beds at the shelter.

In a purple neon-lit soundproofed chamber, Serhiy Zhadan reads verse superimposed with melodica music.

Following the reading, a small crowd gathers to hear Zhadan deliver a strange poetic monologue about a variety of animals.

The poem is a “brutal lullaby” based on a satire of a children’s book, according to Zhadan.

It’s loaded with profanity, which is a far cry from the family-friendly production in the subway. Nonetheless, the goals are comparable.

“A person cannot live only with war,” said Zhadan — a literary celebrity in poetry-obsessed Ukraine.

“It is very important for them to hear a word, to be able to sing along, to be able to express a certain emotion.”