Kuznetsova Oksana
This year I was interested in the topic of history of the origin of the Petrushka Theater. The Petrushka Theater is a folk puppet theater, but until the end of the 19th century the Petrushka Theater was not a theater specifically for children. About history of the Petrushka Theater You can learn a lot from literature and the Internet. Some information about this presented in the presentation of my publication. I was interested in the question about musical accompaniment puppet show , a small research(trip to regional library, children's library, browsing Internet articles, studying literature on local history). This is exactly what my publication is about.
I was lucky to have three toys Parsley(Soviet edition, two toys shown in the photo, and I haven’t had time to fix the third one yet (many colleagues know from previous publications that I collect such dolls and restoring clothes).
Musical accompaniment of the Petrushka Theater.
Part of the majority theater performances« Parsley» there were songs and dances. The heroes of the comedy performed lyrical songs, dance songs, couplets of the ditty type, cruel romances, songs literary origin. They danced Kamarinskaya, trepaka, "lady", polka, waltz, etc. For example, under "Kamarinskaya" Parsley dances with the bride, to the sounds of a waltz, a German appears. Played a big role in the comedy musical inserts. Dances and songs, hurdy-gurdy melodies were not just musical design of the performance, they were designed to set the audience in a cheerful, festive mood, to create additional comic effect through the contrasting relationship between melody and action, serve as a characteristic of the characters.
Puppeteer was free to choose his repertoire, distribution it between the characters, in the intensity of the performance musical inserts. First of all, it depended on talent parsley, taste, ability to sing and knowledge of songs and dances, from his ability "feel" the public. However, there were still some limitations and patterns. Firstly, songs and melodies that were popular in the given environment were selected. This was done not only because the performances were designed for the widest, grassroots circle of spectators, but something else is no less important. Due to their specificity, folk puppet shows cannot go on for long and require frequent changes of episodes and rapid action. Therefore, the heroes of such a performance, as a rule, do not sing entire songs and do not dance for a long time, otherwise this will disrupt the tempo and will certainly affect the quality representation. The verse, the initial lines of the song are performed, the first bars of the melody are played, sung or whistled, and, since well-known works are used, the audience themselves instantly restores the whole and tunes in to the desired one. this moment okay In addition, often song- musical the insertion creates a comic effect by parodying some work, and the degree of comedy largely depends on the popularity of the thing being parodied. Often the audience laughs accompanies the song is performed because its content is sharply opposed to the actions of the heroes. Parsley climbs onto the horse with difficulty, sits backwards, comically grabs the tail or mane so as not to fall, and begins to sing a dashing coachman’s song, “I will harness three dark brown greyhounds”. The lines of the romance sound no less contrasting and funny “Don’t leave, my darling, don’t leave your dear fields.”, performed Parsley immediately after how he uses a stick to beat and drive away a blackamoor.
To work with children in kindergarten I picked up Russian folk tunes, dance songs, children's nursery rhymes and songs. IN modern conditions Parsley acts not as a rude person and a deceiver, but as someone who needs to be taught good manners and correct behavior.
Publications on the topic:
Fairy tales: “Zayushkina’s hut”, “Rukavichka” and Christmas story about carols. The puppet theater is very popular with children, and always when it is announced.
Theater is Magic world. He gives lessons in beauty, morality and ethics. And the richer they are, the more successful the development is. spiritual world children...”
Methodological development of the puppet show “The Tale of Gray Baikal” fairy tale of Gray Baikal. Based on the Buryat folk tale"The Magic Chest" PREFACE: Based on a theatrical puppet show.
Scenario for a puppet theater based on the fairy tale by K. I. Chukovsky “Fedorino Grief” Scenario puppet theater based on the fairy tale by K.I. Chukovsky “Fedorino’s grief” (Fedora can barely walk) I would wash the dishes, But I can’t lift my hands.
Parsley is a glove puppet, one of the characters of the Russian folk theater. Depicted in a red shirt, canvas pants and a pointed cap with a tassel. In V. Dahl's dictionary it is:
the nickname of a booth doll, a Russian jester, a jokester, a wit in a red caftan and a red cap; The whole clownish, puppet den is also called Petrushka.
The origin of this doll, which appeared in Russia in the second half of the 19th century, has not been reliably clarified. Although in Russia Parsley has been known since the 17th century. Russian puppeteers used marionettes (string puppet theater) and parsleys (glove puppets). Until the 19th century, preference was given to Parsley, by the end of the century - to marionettes, as parsley makers united with organ grinders.
Petrushka's appearance is by no means Russian: he has an exaggerated big hands and the head, the facial features are hypertrophied, the face itself (carved from wood) is treated with a special plant liquid, which makes it look darker; large almond-shaped eyes and a huge hooked nose, completely white eyeballs and a dark iris, due to which Parsley’s eyes appear black. He inherited Parsley's appearance from the Italian Pulcinella. Many people mistakenly believe that Parsley’s wide-open mouth is a smile, but this is not so; being negative character, Petrushka constantly stretches her lips in a grin. He has four fingers on his hands (a possible symbol that Petrushka is not a person, but some character from another world).
A typical misconception is to revere Petrushka as an extremely ancient and primordially Russian hero, based on his archetypal character traits, which originated in the depths of human ideas about themselves. Parsley is the younger relative of the older ones: the Neapolitan Pulcinella, the French Polichinelle, the English Punch, the Turkish Karagöz, the German Hanswurst and Kasperle, the Spanish Don Cristobal and others - despite the fact that all of them are theatrical puppets and are controlled using threads. The only analogue of Petrushka in terms of driving technique is the Guignol glove doll, which appeared in Lyon in early XIX century.
The parsley screen consisted of three frames, fastened with staples and covered with chintz. It was placed directly on the ground and hid the puppeteer. The barrel organ gathered the audience, and behind the screen the actor began to communicate with the audience through a peep (whistle). Later, with laughter and reprise, he ran out himself, in a red cap and with a long nose. The organ grinder sometimes became Parsley's partner: because of the squeaker, his speech was not always intelligible, and he repeated Parsley's phrases and conducted a dialogue. The comedy with Petrushka was played out at fairs and booths.
In Russia, only men “drove” Petrushka. To make the voice louder and squeakier (this was necessary both for audibility at fair performances and for the special character of the character), they used a special squeak inserted into the larynx. Petrushka’s speech had to be “piercing” and very fast.
There were main plots: Parsley's treatment, training as a soldier, a scene with the bride, buying a horse and testing it. The stories were passed from actor to actor, by word of mouth. No character in the Russian theater had the popularity equal to Petrushka.
According to a widespread but unproven version, plays with the participation of Petrushka were still part of the repertoire of buffoons and consisted of humorous skits and dialogues. Each scene depicted a fight between Petrushka and one character or another (fights were carried out with the help of fists, sticks, etc.).
Usually the performance began with the following plot: Petrushka decides to buy a horse, the musician calls the gypsy horse dealer. Parsley examines the horse for a long time and bargains with the gypsy for a long time. Then Petrushka gets tired of the bargaining, and instead of money, he beats the gypsy on the back for a long time, after which he runs away. Petrushka tries to mount the horse, but it throws him off to the laughter of the audience. This could continue until people laughed it off. Finally the horse runs away, leaving Petrushka lying dead. The doctor comes and asks Petrushka about his illnesses. It turns out that everything hurts. A fight ensues between the Doctor and Petrushka, at the end of which Petrushka hits the enemy hard on the head with a baton. “What kind of doctor are you,” shouted Petrushka, “if you ask where it hurts? Why did you study? You yourself should know where it hurts!” The quarterly appears. - “Why did you kill the doctor?” He answers: “Because he doesn’t know his science well.” After the interrogation, Petrushka hits the policeman on the head with a club and kills him. A growling dog comes running. Parsley unsuccessfully asks for help from the audience and the musician, after which he flirts with the dog, promising to feed it cat meat. The dog grabs him by the nose and drags him away, and Petrushka shouts: “Oh, my little head with its cap and brush is gone!” The music stops, signaling the end of the performance.
If the audience liked it, then they did not let the actors go, applauded, threw money, demanding a continuation. Then they played a small scene “Petrushka’s Wedding”. A bride is brought to Parsley, he examined her the way a horse is examined. He likes the bride, he doesn’t want to wait for the wedding and begins to beg her to “sacrifice herself.” From the scene where the bride “sacrifices herself,” the women left and took their children with them. According to some reports, another skit in which a clergyman was present was a great success. It was not included in any of the recorded texts; most likely, it was removed by censorship. There were scenes in which Petrushka did not participate. It was dancing and juggling with balls and sticks.
Parsley defeated all opponents except one - Death. In the last, final scene, Death took Petrushka with him. However, since Petrushka was used in a farce theater, it is natural that the performance was shown several times and in different places. Thus, Petrushka, who “died” for one circle of viewers, “resurrected” for another. This gives researchers reason to draw parallels between the image of Parsley and many different pagan gods, endlessly dying and resurrecting.
At the beginning of the 20th century, “The Comedy about Petrushka” begins to collapse. Parsley growers began to appear at children's parties and New Year trees, the text of the scenes changed, losing its sharpness. Parsley stopped killing. He swung his club and scattered his enemies. He spoke politely, and the “wedding” changed, turning into a dance with the bride. The rude, common speech disappeared, and with it the individuality of the hooligan-joker, to whom both old and young came running.
Certain elements of the traditional “Comedy about Petrushka” (in particular, free “paradise” verse) were used by S. Ya. Marshak in the play for children's theater“Parsley the Foreigner” (1927).
35. Raek. Device. Raeshny verse (definition, theme) artistic techniques.
People's Theater, consisting of a small box with two magnifying glasses in front. Inside it, pictures are rearranged or a paper strip with homegrown images of different cities, great people and events is rewound from one skating rink to another. Raeshnik moves the pictures and tells sayings and jokes for each new story. These pictures were often made in popular print style, initially had a religious content - hence the name “paradise”, and then began to reflect a wide variety of topics, including political ones. Fair trade was widely practiced.
Rayoshnik or rayochnik - a storyteller, performer of a rayk, as well as a person visiting a rayon. In addition, the term rayoshnik (or rayoshny verse) refers to the rhymed prose spoken by the narrator and his characters.
RAYOSHNY VERSE, RAYOK - the oldest form of Russian folk dismetric verse (free verse) with adjacent rhymes, determined by intonation-phrase and pause division. In short, it is a rhyming phrase book. Subjects and genres of R. s. the most diverse: from topical satire to cheerful jokes. Most of the folk theater plays and texts of performances for the folk puppet theater (nativity scene, parsley, booth) were compiled in the form of a raika, unusually flexible in its structure and most suitable for improvisational performances on stage.
Example R. s. (from the book “Folk Poetic Satire”, Leningrad, 1960):
And here, gentlemen, is the lottery.
An oxtail and two fillets!..
The twelve stone clock is still being played
Yes, on three bricks.
Brought from non-farm goods on firewood!
Also played is a teapot without a lid, without a bottom -
Only one handle!..
Real Chinese porcelain!
Was thrown out into the yard
And I picked it up, yes I mean,
That you can also win porcelain in the lottery!
Well, guys, come on -
Buy up my tickets!..
Cigarette tickets will do for you,
And the rubles will move in my purse!..
In Russian literature R. s. was neglected for a long time, despite the fact that the most prominent Russian poets turned to this capacious folk form verse, for example, by A. Pushkin in “The Tale of the Priest and His Worker Balda,” in the spirit people's district:
Once upon a time there was a priest,
Thick forehead,
Pop went to the market
View some products.
Balda meets him
He goes without knowing where.
“Why, dad, did you get up so early?
What are you asking for?..”
Like the learned bears, dolls were once part of the buffoon's repertoire. Folk puppeteers leading a wandering lifestyle performed their funny performances wherever people gathered. In the 19th century, the main character of Russian folk puppet theater throughout the country became Petrushka (Petr Ivanovich Uksusov, aka Vanka Ratatouille). A dense crowd of spectators invariably gathered around this character.
The most common was the traveling theater of Petrushka: a puppeteer with his assistant musician and the necessary equipment (a folding screen, a set of dolls, musical instruments) moved from fair to fair, earning their bread and travel. Another type of this entertainment was represented by city organ grinders, who walked mainly only along the streets of their city and its environs. Besides, puppet show with Petrushka was often performed in booths as one of the numbers in a mixed program.
The puppeteers usually mastered their skills so well that the audience was given the illusion that Petrushka was really a living person and not a doll. In general, Petrushka managed to gain truly popular love, but the reasons for the popularity of this character are very different: from the “uncomplicatedness” of the scenes with his participation to their satirical, topical component.
The content of the performances with Petrushka varied depending on the place and time of their holding, but there were scenes and techniques common to all performances, since the comedy about Petrushka was usually passed on from performer to performer only orally. The Petrushka Theater in the mid-19th century included mandatory scenes (the main part of the comedy), and a number of minor ones, the number, content and order of which were determined by the puppeteer himself at his own discretion, depending on his capabilities, talent, local tradition and so on. The main scenes with Petrushka were as follows: Petrushka's exit, the scene with the bride, buying a horse, Petrushka's treatment, training him to serve as a soldier, and the finale. Petrushka's appearance usually began with his unexpected appearance from behind the screen. Petrushka's outfit consisted of a red shirt, corduroy pants tucked into boots and a red cap. Special features His appearance was a hump and a long nose.
Jumping out in front of the audience, Petrushka introduced himself (“I am Petrushka, Petrushka, a cheerful little boy! I drink wine without measure, I am always cheerful and sing...”). Before starting the performance itself, this character would conduct lively conversations with the audience on any topic; sometimes, in order to create the appearance of a casual conversation, the puppeteers hired special “pushes” who from the crowd carried on a free conversation with parsley. Then began Petrushkin's adventures, which started with his intention to get married. His doll bride appeared, in whose face various character traits of his time, for example, city morals and manners, a village girl’s ignorance of city fashion, and a guy flaunting his metropolitan habits.
After the story of the marriage, there usually came a scene where our hero buys a horse, which turned out to be not at all as good as the gypsy seller described it. A restive horse throws off Petrushka and hits him with its hoof, he begins to moan loudly and call for a doctor, and then one of the constant heroes of Petrushka’s comedy appears - the doctor, who can say to himself: “People are led to me on their feet, and from me they are driven on road " This is followed by a funny, public-favorite episode of searching for a sore spot and an altercation between Petrushka and the doctor, as a result of which he demonstrates to the “pharmacist” exactly where the horse hit him.
Almost any performance with the participation of Petrushka included scenes of training in the “soldier’s articulation”, during which he comically carried out drill commands and rifle techniques. A comical effect was also achieved when the hero supposedly did not hear the commands given to him well (for example, to the corporal’s command “Hold it straight!”, he asked again: “What is it? Matryona Petrovna?”). Well, at the very end of the performance, according to tradition, Petrushka falls into the “underworld,” that is, some character (the devil, a dog, a ram) drags him down behind the screen, but only so that our hero “resurrects” again at the beginning of the next performance .
At the same time, the degree of social acuteness of the Petrushka Comedy varied depending on the place and time of the performance; for this purpose, a skilled puppeteer could, during the performance, sharpen some aspects of the performance and smooth out others. For example, if the comedy was staged for a single company, then Petrushkin’s jokes became more obscene and the plot concerned mainly his relationship with his bride; if the performance was performed in front of peasants or the urban poor, then the scene of Petrushka’s interrogation and reprisal of the policeman became very relevant. In this way, Petrushka could express popular protest, but the puppeteer did not always have such an opportunity, and some scenes waited in the wings in front of a narrow circle of spectators.
The Petrushka Theater could not exist without a good musician, who performed three main functions: accompanied the action by playing some musical instrument; temporarily participated in the puppet show, talking with Petrushka; acted as an intermediary between the public and the dolls.
Puppet comedy with the participation of comic characters has its roots in Italy and France, and the performances of foreign puppeteers influenced the Petrushka Theater, but in Russia Petrushka became a people's favorite, incorporating Russian folklore features.
Performances with the participation of Petrushka were always perceived as a holiday and gathered people around them. a large number of people, but by the beginning of the 20th century this entertainment gradually faded away and Petrushka ceased to be the main character of the fair, he was replaced by others folk entertainment. Only after 1917 was Petrushka briefly able to gain fame.
(The article was prepared based on materials from: A. Nekrylova “Russian folk city festivals, entertainment and spectacles. The end of the 18th - beginning of the 20th century”)
In the illustration “Petrushka”, 1882. Leonid Ivanovich Solomatkin (1837-1883)
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IN folk art was also known puppet theater: marionette theater(in it the dolls were controlled using threads), Petrushka Theater with glove puppets (the puppets were put on the puppeteer’s fingers) and nativity scene(in it, the dolls were fixedly fixed on rods and moved along slots in the boxes).
The Parsley Theater was especially beloved by the people. In the 19th century, the Petrushka Theater was the most popular and widespread type of puppet theater in Russia. It consisted of a light folding screen, a box with several dolls (the number of characters usually ranges from 7 to 20), a barrel organ and small props (sticks or batons, rattles, rolling pins, etc.). The Parsley Theater did not know the scenery. The puppeteer, accompanied by a musician, usually an organ grinder, walked from courtyard to courtyard and gave traditional performances of Petrushka. He could always be seen during folk festivals and fairs. The main character was Petrushka, after whom the theater was named. This hero was also called Pyotr Ivanovich Uksusov, Pyotr Petrovich Samovarov, etc. It arose under the influence of the Italian puppet theater Pulcinello, with which Italians often performed in St. Petersburg and other cities.
Separate satirical scenes were presented at the Petrushka Theater. A.M. Gorky noted that “the invincible puppet hero defeated everyone and everything: priests, police, the devil and death. He himself remained immortal.” 1
This is how D.A. described it. Rovinsky's performance at the Petrushka Theater, which he witnessed:
“This comedy is played in Moscow, near Novinsky. [...] Its content is very simple: first Petrushka appears, lies all sorts of nonsense in verses, burring and nasal in his nose - the conversation is conducted through a typewriter placed to the roof of his mouth, above the tongue, just like that the same way as the French and Italians do. The Gypsy appears, offers Petrushka a horse, and Petrushka examines it, and receives kicks from the horse, first in the nose, then in the belly; the whole comedy is filled with kicks, they constitute the most significant and most ridiculous part for him. spectators. There is a bargain, - the Gypsy speaks without a typewriter, in a bass voice. After a long haggling, Petrushka buys a horse; the Gypsy sits down on his purchase; he throws off Petrushka and runs away, leaving him dead on the stage. Parsley and lamentations for a premature death good fellow. The Doctor comes:
Where does it hurt?
Here!
And here?
It turns out that everything in Petrushka hurts. But when the Doctor reaches a tender spot, Petrushka jumps up and hits him on the ear; The Doctor fights back, a fight begins, a stick appears from somewhere, with which Parsley finally calms the Doctor.
What kind of Doctor are you,” Parsley shouts to him, “if you ask where it hurts?” What did you study for? You should know where it hurts!
A few more minutes - Kvartalny, or, in puppet terms, “fatal officer” appears. Since there is a dead body on the stage, Petrushka is subjected to a strict interrogation (in treble):
Why did you kill the Doctor?
Answer (in the nose):
Because he doesn’t know his science well - he looks at what he’s wearing, doesn’t see it, and even asks him.
Word for word, it’s clear that Petrushka doesn’t like Fatalny’s interrogation. He seizes the old stick, and a fight ensues, which ends in the destruction and expulsion of Fatal, to the general delight of the spectators; This puppet protest against the police usually creates a real sensation among the public.
The play, it would seem, is over; but what to do with Parsley? And then a wooden poodle dog runs onto the stage, pasted over its tail and legs with scraps of whipped cotton wool, and begins to bark with all its might (the barking is made from husky at the bottom).
Little darling,” Petrushka caresses her, “let’s come live with me, I’ll feed you cat meat.”
But Shavochka, for no apparent reason, grabs Petrushka by the nose; Parsley to the side, she takes his hand, he takes it to the other, she grabs his nose again; Finally, Petrushka takes to a shameful flight. That's where the comedy ends. If there are a lot of spectators and Petrushkin’s matchmaker, i.e. the main comedian is given vodka, then after that a special interlude called Parsley's wedding. There is no plot in it, but there is a lot of action. Petrushka is brought his bride Varyusha; he examines her like a horse. Petrushka liked Varyushka very much, and he can’t bear to wait for the wedding, which is why he begins to beg her: “Sacrifice yourself, Varyushka!” Then it happens final scene, in which the fair sex cannot be present. This is already the real and “very last end” of the performance; then Petrushka goes to the outside stage of the booth to lie all sorts of nonsense and invite the audience to a new performance.
In the intervals between the actions of the play, dances of two Arapok are usually presented, sometimes a whole interlude about a Lady who was bitten by a snake (Eve?); here, finally, two Pagliacci are shown playing with balls and a stick. The latter comes out extremely cleverly and funny from experienced puppeteers: the doll has no body, but only a fake simple skirt, to which an empty cardboard head is sewn on top, and arms, also empty, on the sides. Puppeteer sticks a doll into the head forefinger, and in the hands - the first and third fingers; He usually puts a doll on each hand and thus acts with two dolls at once. During puppet comedy there is always a barrel organ, replacing the old classic bagpipes, harp and whistle; At the same time, the organ grinder serves as a “prompter,” i.e. enters into conversations with Petrushka, asks him questions and urges him to continue his lies without stopping." 2
In folk art he was also known puppet theater: marionette theater(in it the dolls were controlled using threads), Petrushka Theater with glove puppets (the puppets were put on the puppeteer’s fingers) and nativity scene(in it, the dolls were fixedly fixed on rods and moved along slots in the boxes).
The Parsley Theater was especially beloved by the people. In the 19th century, the Petrushka Theater was the most popular and widespread type of puppet theater in Russia. It consisted of a light folding screen, a box with several dolls (the number of characters usually ranges from 7 to 20), a barrel organ and small props (sticks or batons, rattles, rolling pins, etc.). The Parsley Theater did not know the scenery. The puppeteer, accompanied by a musician, usually an organ grinder, walked from courtyard to courtyard and gave traditional performances of Petrushka. He could always be seen during folk festivals and fairs. The main character was Petrushka, after whom the theater was named. This hero was also called Pyotr Ivanovich Uksusov, Pyotr Petrovich Samovarov, etc. It arose under the influence of the Italian puppet theater Pulcinello, with which Italians often performed in St. Petersburg and other cities.
Separate satirical scenes were presented at the Petrushka Theater. A.M. Gorky noted that “the invincible puppet hero defeated everyone and everything: priests, police, the devil and death. He himself remained immortal.” 1
This is how D.A. described it. Rovinsky's performance at the Petrushka Theater, which he witnessed:
“This comedy is played in Moscow, near Novinsky. [...] Its content is very simple: first Petrushka appears, lies all sorts of nonsense in verses, burring and nasal in his nose - the conversation is conducted through a typewriter placed to the roof of his mouth, above the tongue, just like that the same way as the French and Italians do. The Gypsy appears, offers Petrushka a horse, and Petrushka examines it, and receives kicks from the horse, first in the nose, then in the belly; the whole comedy is filled with kicks, they constitute the most significant and most ridiculous part for him. spectators. There is a bargain, - the Gypsy speaks without a typewriter, in a bass voice. After a long haggling, Petrushka buys a horse; the Gypsy sits down on his purchase; he throws off Petrushka and runs away, leaving him dead on the stage. Parsley and lamentations for the untimely death of a good fellow The Doctor comes:
Where does it hurt?
Here!
And here?
It turns out that everything in Petrushka hurts. But when the Doctor reaches a tender spot, Petrushka jumps up and hits him on the ear; The Doctor fights back, a fight begins, a stick appears from somewhere, with which Parsley finally calms the Doctor.
What kind of Doctor are you,” Parsley shouts to him, “if you ask where it hurts?” What did you study for? You should know where it hurts!
A few more minutes - Kvartalny, or, in puppet terms, “fatal officer” appears. Since there is a dead body on the stage, Petrushka is subjected to a strict interrogation (in treble):
Why did you kill the Doctor?
Answer (in the nose):
Because he doesn’t know his science well - he looks at what he’s wearing, doesn’t see it, and even asks him.
Word for word, it’s clear that Petrushka doesn’t like Fatalny’s interrogation. He seizes the old stick, and a fight ensues, which ends in the destruction and expulsion of Fatal, to the general delight of the spectators; This puppet protest against the police usually creates a real sensation among the public.
The play, it would seem, is over; but what to do with Parsley? And then a wooden poodle dog runs onto the stage, pasted over its tail and legs with scraps of whipped cotton wool, and begins to bark with all its might (the barking is made from husky at the bottom).
Little darling,” Petrushka caresses her, “let’s come live with me, I’ll feed you cat meat.”
But Shavochka, for no apparent reason, grabs Petrushka by the nose; Parsley to the side, she takes his hand, he takes it to the other, she grabs his nose again; Finally, Petrushka takes to a shameful flight. That's where the comedy ends. If there are a lot of spectators and Petrushkin’s matchmaker, i.e. the main comedian is given vodka, then after that a special interlude called Parsley's wedding. There is no plot in it, but there is a lot of action. Petrushka is brought his bride Varyusha; he examines her like a horse. Petrushka liked Varyushka very much, and he cannot bear to wait for the wedding, which is why he begins to beg her: “Sacrifice yourself, Varyushka!” Then the final scene occurs, in which the fair sex cannot be present. This is already the real and “very last end” of the performance; then Petrushka goes to the outside stage of the booth to lie all sorts of nonsense and invite the audience to a new performance.
In the intervals between the actions of the play, dances of two Arapok are usually presented, sometimes a whole interlude about a Lady who was bitten by a snake (Eve?); here, finally, two Pagliacci are shown playing with balls and a stick. The latter comes out extremely cleverly and funny by experienced puppeteers: the doll has no body, but only a fake simple skirt, to which an empty cardboard head is sewn on top, and arms, also empty, on the sides. The puppeteer sticks the index finger into the doll's head, and the first and third fingers into the hands; He usually puts a doll on each hand and thus acts with two dolls at once. During puppet comedy there is always a barrel organ, replacing the old classic bagpipes, harp and whistle; At the same time, the organ grinder serves as a “prompter,” i.e. enters into conversations with Petrushka, asks him questions and urges him to continue his lies without stopping." 2