Underground Raids in Attic Space

Ihor Nerivny

City – Odesa

Language – Ukrainian

Genre – Stand-up, improvisation

Creative Path

Ihor Nerivny is a Ukrainian comedian, stand-up artist, resident of "Pідпільний Стендап" (Underground Stand-up), and host of the "Bla Bla Podcast." He describes himself as a progressive person, and his humor as a comedic reflection on social issues and inner struggles. As a native of Odessa, Ihor switched to speaking Ukrainian, setting a positive example for others. His path to success, popularity, and recognition was paved through hard work. Talent and charisma played an important role as he gradually found his audience and won over thousands of fans. Ihor Nerivny is a resident of "Pідпільний Стендап," which means he actively collaborates with the club’s team, participating in podcasts and concerts alongside other comedians. Fans of humor in Kyiv and other cities flock to his performances. The comedy master has also moved on to solo acts, with programs such as "In the Conditions of the Present" and "Comedic Potential" being presented to the public.

Style and Artist Development

Ihor Nerivny’s humor stands out for his thoughtful and detailed approach to creating material. From the stage, the comedian addresses pressing issues, covering topics like everyday life, relationships, cultural and societal problems, and traditions. His witty jokes often feature elements of self-criticism and satire. The bold humor of the artist tackles topics such as:

• corruption in ancient Greece;
• the peculiarities of the office manager profession;
• blackouts;
• the difficulties of making coffee in a cezve (Turkish coffee pot), and much more.

In the world of Ukrainian comedy, Ihor is often referred to as the "king of podcasts." He’s like the Yoda of the stand-up universe. However, Ihor doesn't risk becoming an arrogant comedy star, as he is well aware that a smart audience can easily sense a comedian’s mood and position. Overplaying or trying to push beyond one’s limits in this field is unnecessary. Moreover, the public enjoys Ihor's unique authorial style, which blends balance with emotionality.

Nikita Trandafilov City – Odessa (Ukraine)

Language – Ukrainian

Genre – Stand-up, improvisation

Creative Path

Nikita Trandafilov is a popular Ukrainian artist in the stand-up genre, a talented improviser, and a holder of boundless charisma. The comedian is a resident of "Underground Stand-up" and also works as a writer for humorous projects. Among them:

• "Anxious Stand-up";
• sketch show "Treehouse" and others.

Nikita runs his own YouTube channel, where he jokes about various topics:

• about a trip to Kharkiv;
• about childhood;
• about future death;
• about electric scooters and socializing with friends;
• about interacting with teenagers and much more.

At a certain point during his work on the "Anxious Stand-up" project, the comedian felt that his performances had become "weak," and he was literally doing something he didn’t want to. So, Nikita decided to stop performing. Not to take a break, but to never return to the stage for stand-up fans again. By that time, Trandafilov had indeed stopped planning performances and started working out at the gym to get into shape. However, he continued writing material, and talent prevailed over Nikita – the artist returned to live performances with the audience in 2023.

Style and Development of the Comedian

Recently, Nikita Trandafilov made the decision to move from the capital of humor to Kyiv. His first solo stand-up took place in the spring of 2024. Nikita presented his program "Mikasa," where he made the audience laugh heartily with witty stories about his daily life, relationships with friends, dating, intimate relationships, interactions with exes, and other interesting life situations.

Social Activity

Together with other colleagues from the humor industry, Nikita actively hosts charity stand-up nights aimed at supporting our defenders. Like many performers in the music scene, comedians also help individual units and military personnel, uniting their efforts and all their fans around an important cause.

A stand-up comedian who finds the funny in the everyday

Svitlana Nemonezhina is a bright and talented handbag, a new star of the "Laughter League" (team "We heard Gagara"), a participant of "Make the comedian laugh" and the founder of the world's first "Dog stand-up", where guests can come with their pets. She is a puppet theater director by education, and a humorist by profession.

The girl started writing her first jokes as a schoolgirl. Then there were 8 years of study in Kharkiv. And since 2019, Svitlana is a Kyivan. The capital attracted her with its diversity and "collage of people and places."

"My favorite tools are absurdity and hyperbole"

One of the first stand-ups took place on a small stage of a bar on Independence Square. But the real debut dates back to 2015, when Svitlana came across "Open Microphone" in Kharkiv. In general, Roma Hryshchuk, the founder of "Mamahohotal", advised the girl to do stand-up. He saw the performance of the comedian at "KVK" and noted that it was very similar to stand-up. Then the first fans and the first haters appeared (where would we go without them). Today, the performances of Svitlana Nemonezhina gather a considerable audience. Her unique ability is to look at all life events through the prism of paradox. Svetlana boldly combines words that are usually difficult to even imagine next to each other in one sentence. And also - she thinks in jokes. And this is already serious)

Svyatoslav Zagaikevich: his humor helps to "keep the cuckoo afloat"

Svyatoslav Zagaykevych is one of the most experienced and beloved representatives of Ukrainian stand-up, where in 13 years of creative activity in the genre he has reached the level of a guru. It was Svyat Zagaykevych who founded the now legendary "Underground Standup", which in 2022 became the best Ukrainian-language YouTube channel in the "standup" category. He started as a comedian with 2-3 dozen viewers. And now his "residence of laughter" is located near the "Golden Gate", his concerts are sold out and have hundreds of thousands of views on the network.

Virtuoso of Ukrainian comedy

Warming up the audience is easy! Pull out from among the many jokes exactly the one you were waiting for - he succeeds in this! Svyatoslav Zagaykevych perfectly feels the hall and always captivates with masterful improvisations. He once even told a joke to the outstanding British actor and writer Stephen Fry. Didn't know? Well, ask at the next solo show, maybe Svyat will tell you about it.