''The Phoney Civilization'' ( / ''Krivorazbranata tsivilizatsiya'') is a five-acts

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

written by the

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

n playwright Dobri Voynikov published in 1871.''The Phoney Civilization'' at Publishing house “Slovo”
/ref> In a comical folklore manner, the play satirizes the understanding of foreign fashion trends as human progress in Bulgarian society at the time. This is the most popular work by Voynikov who is among the pioneers of the Bulgarian theatre. ''The Phoney Civilization'' is a classic work of the Late Bulgarian revival period in the end of 19th century. The best known production of the play is probably the 1974 TV musical adaptation directed by Hacho Boyadzhiev, featuring some of the prominent Bulgarian comic actors, including Georgi Partsalev and

Georgi Kaloyanchev Georgi Todorov Kaloyanchev (; 13 January 1925 – 18 December 2012) was a Bulgarian actor. Biography He was born in the city of Burgas. He studied in the former theatrical school in Sofia. Immediately after graduating he started playing i ...

. Because of the relevance of its subject matter, the play is still staged at the theatres more than a hundred years after its first publishing.

Characters

Hajji Hajji (; sometimes spelled Hajjeh, Hadji, Haji, Alhaji, Al-Hadj, Al-Haj or El-Hajj) is an honorific title which is given to a Muslim who has successfully completed the Hajj to Mecca. Etymology ''Hajji'' is derived from the Arabic ' (), which i ...

Kosta: The head of the family. * Zlata: Hadzhi Kosta's wife. * Anka: Hadzhi Kosta and Zlata's daughter. * Margaridi: Greek doctor, Anka's suitor. * Mariyka: Anka's friend. * Mityu: Young man in love with Anka. * Grandma Stoyna: A matchmaker. * Dimitraki: Anka's brother. * Raycho: A domestic servant. * Georgi: Mityu's friend. * Pencho: Mityu's friend. * Maystor Stanyu: Mityu's father.

Synopsis

The action takes place in a small town during the late

Bulgarian revival The Bulgarian Revival (, ''Balgarsko vazrazhdane'' or simply: Възраждане, ''Vazrazhdane'', and ), sometimes called the Bulgarian National Revival, was a period of socio-economic development and national integration among Bulgarian pe ...

period in the end of 19th century. Hadzhi Kosta, a storekeeper, is concerned about the significant amount of money spent by his daughter and his wife for a variety of foreign fashion accessories and clothes that are totally unnecessary, according to him. He is also concerned about the neglect of the family traditions and the susceptibility of his daughter, his son and his wife to the emerging “fashionable” trends in behaviour fueled by the foreign brands and local snobs.

References

External links

''The Phoney Civilization''
at the

Bulgarian National Television The Bulgarian National Television ( Bulgarian: Българска национална телевизия, ''Balgarska natsionalna televizia'') or BNT (БНТ), stylized as ·Б·Н·Т· since 2018, is a public television broadcaster of Bulgaria ...

''The Phoney Civilization''
web page {{DEFAULTSORT:Phoney Civilization 1871 plays Bulgarian comedy plays Bulgarian satirical plays Plays set in Bulgaria Ottoman literature