I was recently party to the world premiere of Russian stand-up comedian Sasha Nezlobin’s show I’m Фine (spelt with a Cyrillic “ф”, pronounced “f”), previewing ahead of a month-long run at the Edinburgh Fringe. The expectant crowd had gathered to support Russia’s answer to Michael McIntyre in Nezlobin’s first full-hour set performed in English since fleeing Russia in 2022.
Nezlobin moved with his wife and daughter to Los Angeles after falling foul of the Putin regime for supporting LGBTQ+ rights and speaking out against the war. As one of a handful of well-known comedians on the relatively new and booming Russian stand-up circuit, Nezlobin doesn’t know if he’ll ever be able to return home. Earlier this year comedian Nurlan Saburov was banned from entering Russia for 50 years. Another comedian, Artemy Ostanin, was sentenced to nearly six years in a penal colony for a joke about a war veteran.
Since the early 2000s, I have been travelling to Russia most years to study or research in the archives. However, since Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 the UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to Russia.
I used to proudly state that Russia felt like my second “rodina” (homeland) but now, like many, I am nervous of speaking Russian in public or admitting the extent of my Russian interests. The darkened room of the Pleasance Theatre studio felt like a safe space for us all, something akin to attending group therapy, or “laughter therapy” as Nezlobin himself calls it. As often happens in challenging times, dark humour proves an essential coping strategy in the face of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
As an English translator of Russian drama, it was fascinating for me to observe a Russian stand-up comedian operating in English. Drawing on his experience of being forced to leave Russia, live in the US and perform to new crowds, Nezlobin offers jokes for Russians, Brits and Americans alike that can be appreciated on different levels. He warns about the growing parallels between Putin’s Russia and Trump’s America, with both starting down the slippery slope of authoritarianism with attacks on LGBTQ+ rights.
Much material hinges on Nezlobin hamming up his self-described “poor English” with the biggest laughs for gags about him sounding “like your Uber driver who talks too much” and having the “most deportable accent of the family”. The audience in London were mostly Russian speaking, but I assume this may not be the case for the 20+ shows in Edinburgh, so it will be interesting to hear how it lands there.
My fellow literary translators currently trying to justify their existence against AI would have appreciated the line that ChatGPT “can’t do humour” and so was responsible for anything in the show being unfunny.
One of my favourite jokes was Nezlobin’s description of transporting the family dog from Moscow to Los Angeles as a “special operation”. It’s a riff on the euphemism “special military operation” that Putin coined having banned the word “war” to describe the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Another gag for the linguists – any issues with “language barriers” in the show were deemed appropriate as Russia has always had a “problem with its borders”.
Many organisations are understandably nervous of showcasing anything associated with Russia, and the priority right now must be supporting Ukraine and combating Putin. The levels of propaganda and indoctrination by Russia, particularly of Ukrainian children in Russian occupied territories and in Russian schools as documented by the Oscar-winning documentary Mr Nobody Against Putin, are extremely concerning.
Although it is challenging to counter the spread of misinformation within Russia itself, we can at least support the progressive Russian diaspora now installed across the world. This is why I have chosen to translate contemporary Russian drama into English as a way of continuing to share culture at this time of conflict and mutual suspicion. Hats off to the Pleasance Theatre for giving this opportunity for Russians and Brits to laugh together.
For a comedian who seeks to call out the malice in Putin’s actions, it is fitting that Nezlobin’s surname means “good-natured” (literally “without malice”) in Russian. When leaving the show, I heard a woman ask her friend in Russian – “So, are you ‘фine’”? – followed by a telling silence. Judging by the post-show queue for selfies and the number of poignant hugs I witnessed, I hope that Nezlobin has someone to trauma dump on about the pain he must be absorbing from his fans.
Sasha Nezlobin’s I’m фine is on at The 10 Dome at Pleasance Dome in Edinburgh from 5-31 August, 2026
Jessica Tipton does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.