PETTY BOURGEOIS WEDDING by B. Brecht
Director ÌARK WEIL
Stage Designer STANISLAV FESKO
Costume Designer VITA SEVRYUKOVA
The performance has been a hit in the repertoire of the theatre since 1979. The concept of the «retrostyle family portrait» turned out to be universal. «The Wedding» is equally interesting for the young people and the older generation satisfying the curiosity of the former and causing nostalgic memories of the later. A very inventive set design turns it, according to M. Kasmina, into «a snuff-box with swiftly unwinding spring («The theatre» magazine). Those not deprived of a sense of humor will easily recognize themselves in the personages invited to the «petty bourgeois wedding» and probably once again will forgive themselves their human weaknesses.
In April 1979 it was difficult to foresee that «Petty Bourgeois Wedding» by B. Brecht at «Ilkhom» would prove to be such a long-running performance. Today it is already watched by the grown up children of its first audience. A lot is written about the performance. The most scandalous reputation in its history was acquired after the article by Yu. Galkin in «Komsomolskaya Pravda» Newspaper (April 1980) which was unmasking «an ideologically harmful theatre .Later, a well-known Moscow theatre critic A. Svobodin put «Petty Bourgeois Wedding» into the annals of the Soviet theatre history.
However, the Soviet theatre is such a significant and complex page in the culture of mankind that, really, one feels like turning it with great respect. Let's do it and become pleasantly surprised to have a chance to witness the life of a performance dating back to «stagnant 70's» which has continued to live in the «Ilkhom»'s interpretation in the theatres of Macedonia and Russi_ena; the very performance that once won applause from the audiences in Moscow, Leningrad, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Norway, Yugoslavia, as well as from millions of viewers of the once-existed Central Television.
It is strange and a happy life that»Petty Bourgeois Wedding» has had…
Dramatis personae:
Mother of the Bride – Svetlana KREMCHANINOVA
Father of the Bride – Georgiy DMITRIEV
Bride – Alena LUSTINA
Sister of the Bride – Vassa DERGALEVA
Groom – Anton PAKHOMOV
Friend of the Groom – Maxim TUMENEV
Wife – Marina TURPISCHEVA, the Honored actress of Uzbekistan
Husband – Nikolay LEONOV
Young man – Boris GAFUROV
Returning of «The Petty Bourgeois Wedding» - the reporting from a place of event Arthur Konovalov: ¹ 1, ¹ 2, ¹ 3
Biography of the production: 
1979 – a premier;
1980 – a devastating article in the Moscow newspaper "Komsomolskaya Pravda" by Yuriy Galkin "For what to break chairs?";
May, 1982 – Moscow (a small stage of the Mossovet Theater);
October, 1982 – a presentation of the production at the Congress of the Theater International Institute under UNESCO Office in Tashkent;
November, 1982 – Leningrad (Theater on Mokhovaya street);
1987 – Bulgaria (Sofia, Haskovo );
March, 1989 – shooting of the production for the Central Television;
August, 1989 – a staging of a version of the production in Macedonia ( National Theater "Bitola");
1990 – a joint performing with actors of Macedonia and the USA;
August, 1991 – The International Festival in Norway (Oslo);
October, 1991 – a tour in Lithuania (Vilnius);
February, 1993 – a version of the production in the Omsk Academic Theater of Drama;
1993 – 15th anniversary of the production since the day of its premier;
1996 – The International European Theater Festival in Recklinghausen (Germany);
1999 – 20th anniversary of the production since the day of its premier;
3, 4 November 2007 – a return of the legendary performance.
The Premiere will be presented on April,1979
Duration of the performance 1 h 20
WAZ, Germany
25.06.1996
« it is already five years as the Ruhr festival is considered as European. As the performances show these five years were very fruitful for the festival. A fresh example - «Petty Bourgeois Wedding « by Brecht from Tashkent, capital of Uzbekistan.
... the production of the 1979 which has not lost freshness, with absence of any hint on the dogmatism, presented to us highly musical tremendous actors, choreographically is delicately balanced...
... These petty bourgeoisies, whose material and moral facade collapsed on our eyes literally, actually are not connected neither to any nationality nor with any regime».
Medien-Spiegel, Recklinghauser Zeitung,
24.06.1996
«They sit as on a ring when suddenly the laughter sounds at the table where eternal petty bourgeoisies of «Petty Bourgeois Wedding « of Brecht are giving themselves up to the greediness and drunkenness.
... It is clear, this is a material which each director would force to dance wildly. But the brilliant ensemble from Uzbekistan, having a reputation of «dissident» in Brezhnev’ times, does not go the blazed road.
... It is one of tremendous and depressing weddings which ever been lived on stage from which the spectator receives enormous pleasure as well».
Two weddings in Bitole.
Ecran. Yugoslavia. September 21, 1989.
Whether shown in one night the same drama text performed by two ensembles, in two languages does represent interest for public? It appears, it does. It took place on September, 15 in National theatre Bitole. When in front of the overfull house with a break of 45 minutes two versions of «Petty Bourgeois Wedding» by B.Brecht, one ours and one Russian have been performed. Our version was performed by the ensemble of Folk theatre Bitole/.../, and Russian version the ensemble The Ilkhom Theatre from Tashkent, the USSR. Under the same text both productions are staged by the same director./.../On September, 18 the audience again could see a theatrical unexpectedness. It has been declared before and two editions of «Wedding» with the mixed ensemble have taken place - one version have been performed by actresses of Bitole and their colleagues, male actors from Tashkent, the second one - actors of Bitole with actresses from Tashkent. Such interesting event took place in Bitole».
«A story of one studio « .Theatre, 1981.
Natalia Kazmina
M.Weil has ironically and sentimentally determined a genre of the performance — “family portrait in retro-style”. The retro here is witty designated by fashions, hair dresses, dresses, rhythms, melodies. Perhaps, in this performance the musical culture of this director for the first time was showed. Carefully selected dances and music have played the artful role intended to it in enjoying petty-bourgeois wedding. The music, which is not ominous, not insipid, not impudent, firstly foretells nothing of bestiality which will burst. On a background of pogrom of furniture it suddenly begins to sound as ominous, impudent, disgusting. A chaste waltz — to irritate with sugariness, the sharp rock-and-roll once considered as top of freedom, and now prosy becoming fashionable, — hypocrisy. Music exaggerates, as in a curve mirror reflects little petty-bourgeois world which only on the first sight has managed to pretend to be sedate, graceful, and in practice as it was meant by Brecht, represents a nutrient medium of such frightening, changing appearance phenomenon, as fascism.
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