In post-Assad Syria, stand-up comedians are re-emerging to challenge taboos, mocking the former president and his regime and even testing the waters with Damascus’s new rulers. Melki Mardini, a performer in the Syrian capital’s stand-up scene, is among those embracing newfound freedoms. “The regime has fallen,” he declares from the stage, referring to Bashar Al-Assad’s abrupt departure earlier this month, ending more than half a century of his family’s rule.
The audience at an art gallery hosting the show remains silent. “What’s the matter? Are you still scared?” Mardini says, triggering a mix of awkward laughter and applause. “We’ve been doing stand-up for two years,” says the 29-year-old.
“We never imagined a day would come when we could speak so freely.” Now, his performances are “safe spaces”, he says. “We can express our views without bothering anyone, except Bashar.
” Under the old regime, jokes about elections, the dollar or even mentioning the president’s name could mean arrest or worse. Chatting with the audience during his set, Mardini learns one man is a psychiatrist. “A lord in the new Syria!” he exclaims, imagining crowds rushing into therapy after five decades of dictatorship.
For two hours, 13 comedians -- including one woman -- from the collective Styria (a play on the words Syria and hysteria) take the stage, sharing personal stories: an arrest, how they dodged compulsory military service, how they sourced dollars on t.
