The comedy by the founder of the Ukrainian professional theater, actor, director, playwright, author of 40 works, Marko Kropyvnytsky (1840-1910), is full of juicy folk humor, grotesque characters, and perfectly matches the definition of the artist, who called it a one-act “joke-operetta”. The plot of the comedy is quite clear. A young ambitious landlord Rafail Smorodina, a gambler and heartthrob, didn't even notice how he went bankrupt while enjoying “the eternal feast of life”. And...
The comedy by the founder of the Ukrainian professional theater, actor, director, playwright, author of 40 works, Marko Kropyvnytsky (1840-1910), is full of juicy folk humor, grotesque characters, and perfectly matches the definition of the artist, who called it a one-act “joke-operetta”. The plot of the comedy is quite clear. A young ambitious landlord Rafail Smorodina, a gambler and heartthrob, didn't even notice how he went bankrupt while enjoying “the eternal feast of life”. And it's not only about money, it's about spiritual bankruptcy as well. He gambled away his estate and wasted all his money on bells and whistles. Dexterous, energetic, witty servants, taking advantage of the weakness and impracticality of their master, strangely turned into masters without effort. Now all the property is managed by the former housekeeper and his wife, the lackey Styopka intends to marry the sister of the new mistress, and Rafail is invited to be his… best man. The place is a complete mess. Traders and swindlers run things here. The only law that thrives here is as follows: the one who takes it first, gets it. The house is more like an inn, where everyone tries as hard as they can to get the best of what's left.
