A Syrian Parody Features the Civil War, and Is Stalked by It

The New York Times wants to blame all sides, but you can see, if you look, that Assad and the rebels are not the same threat.

'The show skewers President Bashar al-Assad and his government, as well as the religious groups that have taken over much of the uprising.
 It even mocks the rebels in the Free Syrian Army, who provide
 security when the show is filmed on location.

“We make fun of the way they treat civilians, but they have no choice but to protect us,” said Yamen Nour, one of the stars of the show. Mr. Nour, 37, a painter and actor who led demonstrations in 2011,
 considers his theater and television work a continuation of the revolution by other means.

“We want to show people that we are still living,” he said. “It’s very difficult to make people smile during war. We want them to forget the war for a moment.”

Tony el-Taieb, 24, the producer of the series, said he and the 55 or so actors and crew members who work for his company, Lamba Productions, believed that Syria’s original revolutionaries must establish cultural alternatives to those generated by the government in Damascus.

“Our videos drive the regime crazy, because we show the reality,” Mr. Taieb said. “We can’t leave the field of drama to the regime.” '