Thieves ' Ball by Pantykin, Do. 17 März 2022, Ab (2021/2022), Unter der Regie von Andrey Zhitinkin, Dirigat Andrey Alexeev, St Petersburg Theater of Musical Comedy, Sankt Petersburg, Russland

Imagine a classic French resort in the middle of the 20th century: a luxurious city in the bosom of a unique nature - a corner of relaxation for the French bourgeoisie and, a little earlier, the aristocracy. The smells of roses elegantly rhyme here with the aromas of expensive perfumes, and luxurious diamonds on the fingers and neckline of their mistresses playfully compete in purity with fine wines in crystal glasses. As usual, the crunch of banknotes and the ringing of gold turn out to be unusually attractive for all kinds of thieves and thieves. And it is here that the case brings together three swindlers-losers, a bored English aristocrat with young nieces and a family of Parisian bourgeois. Some have come to have a good time. Others - not so much in order to improve their health, but in order to arrange profitable parties for the girls and establish a faltering business. And now the thieves' pockets are full of expensive trinkets, but the theft is discovered, and an unexpected turn awaits the heroes. Does justice prevail? The unexpected ending, to which the author, the famous French playwright Jean Anouilh (1910-1987), leads his characters, is a sign of all his plays of the early “pink” period, including “The Ball of Thieves”. The theater of the musical comedy could not pass by this lyrical comedy, which successfully combined the features typical of a sitcom: many spectacular episodes with forgeries, comic deceptions, mask changes and almost detective intrigue.