The playbill of the exhibition in Petersburg contains one of the most loved Satyrykon cartoons ever. No wonder it’s exactly this one. It perfectly matches the place – Raikin Variety Theatre (Russia’s first professional stage theatre).
Ten years ago, a cabaret was Satyrykon’s main topic to celebrate “Piwnica pod Baranami” 50th anniversary (The Cellar under the Rams). Although, as usual, there were sent well over 2000 works for the competition, the jurors, as usual, complained a bit that most cartoonists associated cabaret with fishnet tights and can-can dance. As if nothing had changed through the last hundred years. In spite of that, there was plenty to choose from.
Some cartoons might request a little comment when exhibited abroad, though not necessarily for the Russian audience. They need no explanation that “Zielony Balonik” (Green Balloon) was the first Polish cabaret, same as “Black Cat” was the first French one, or that “The Cellar under the Rams” is the famous Polish cabaret of the 2nd part of 20th century and so on. Anyway, even without that knowledge, the sharp horn turning into even sharper smile (as Tomek Broda shows it) stimulates our imagination a lot! On the other hand, the name inspired associations of the cabaret with lamb have taken much more general meaning.
