The village of Skokie indefinitely postponed a Kazakhstani comedian’s show at a local theater Saturday after hearing concerns from the community about the comedian’s ties to Russia in light of the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Nurlan Saburov was set to perform a stand-up show at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, which is owned by the village, at 8 p.m. Saturday as part of his 2022 USA tour, according to the tour promoter’s website. The show was sold out online.
Ann Tennes, a spokesperson with the village of Skokie, said the promoter entered into a rental agreement in December to use the space for Saburov’s comedy show. She said the show was sold out sometime in January, but the theater began receiving calls “within the last several weeks from people who were concerned about the performance.”
The decision to postpone the show indefinitely was made Wednesday after conversations with village leadership, theater heads and representatives from Chicago’s Consulate General of Ukraine office and Illinois’ Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, who expressed their own concern and asked the village to consider Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s request for a moratorium on supporting any Russian arts or any other type of involvement, Tennes said.
“In the end, we decided it was in the best interest of the community to postpone indefinitely the performance,” she said. “The village of Skokie supports Ukraine and Ukrainian people, and we share the world’s shock and horror at the atrocities against the Ukrainian people.”
According to the promoter’s website, Saburov is from Kazakhstan and has performed in over 20 countries around the world. The Los Angeles-based company promoting the tour, the Reunion Parties, said in a statement online, “We stand for peace and unity in our community and around the world. As a company, we do not support the ongoing conflict, and we’re going to use some proceeds from the events to help the humanitarian organizations that need it most as we have been doing over the years for other causes.”
The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America Illinois Division said in a statement Thursday the “brutal acts” by Russian forces compelled Zelenskyy to call for a worldwide boycott of all interaction with Russian, especially economic and cultural, so General Consul of Ukraine Serhiy Koledov and UCCA Illinois Division Vice President Pavlo Bandriwisky asked for the village and the theater to support that as a “symbolic stand with Ukraine against the inhumanity we never thought we never thought we would witness in the 21st century.”
“We congratulate the courageous and righteous decision that the village of Skokie, under the leadership of Mayor (George) Van Dusen, has made,” the statement said. “Since Feb. 24, when the Russian aggression in Ukraine increased, we have heard from many of our fellow Illinoisans, including Skokie residents, who have shared our grief. We are certain that Skokie residents are proud that this principled position was taken. Thank you for standing with Ukraine.”