Kapustnik

a comic humorous performance. In prerevolutionary Russia kapustniki were organized by the actors for a small circle of invited guests, usually during Lent. (The name originated from kapusta, or cabbage, a traditional lenten meal.)

The first kapustniki were organized in Moscow as private performances of parodies and jokes by the Society of Art and Literature in 1888–91. Later such evenings were held at the Moscow Art Theater (MKhT), where, in 1910, admission was first charged (the receipts went for the support of the theater’s needy actors). The main organizer and permanent master of ceremonies of the MKhT kapustniki was N. F. Baliev. Letu-chaia Mysh’ (The Bat), the best prerevolutionary miniature theater, based on the MKhT performances, was founded in 1908.

Soviet kapustnik evenings are organized in literary-theatricalcircles, primarily on anniversaries and holidays. Kapustniki arepopular as amateur performances focusing on local current events.