German poet, playwright, director, actor, theorist, and political activist Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956) is considered one of the most significant innovators and reformers of 20th-century theatre.
In 1919, as a young student, Brecht first saw the political cabaret and comic sketches of Karl Valentin, whose influence would prove pivotal in shaping A Respectable Wedding. Brecht wrote this one-act play — originally titled A Wedding (Die Hochzeit) — at the age of 21, alongside a series of other early dramatic experiments. Like Valentin, Brecht drew on everyday situations, using sharp satire, colloquial language, puns, and realistic acting laced with absurd interludes and slapstick humour. These early one-acts written in 1919 represent Brecht’s initial effort to carve out a space for himself as a playwright, outside the conventions of traditional theatre art.
In A Respectable Wedding, a celebration meant to mark the happiest day in the lives of a young couple descends into chaos, and disaster is imminent. What begins with seemingly naturalistic small talk between family and friends quickly unravels during the wedding lunch, as social decorum gives way to pettiness, hostility, and absurdity. The guests begin to reveal their true selves, exposing hidden resentments and foolishness, suggesting that the newlyweds’ marriage may collapse along with the disintegrating furniture.
The illusion of a blissful wedding reception begins to break down with the bride’s father, whose inappropriate, rambling stories set the tone for the unravelling. The bride is revealed to be pregnant, the furniture built by the groom starts falling apart, flirtations erupt between the bride and the groom’s friend as well as between the bride’s sister and another guest, and a vulgar ballad is composed mid-celebration. Ironically, it’s those who cause the most damage who complain the loudest about the shoddy furniture.
Brecht wields biting humour to mock the hypocrisy of petty bourgeois values. A Respectable Wedding is both a social satire and a comedy that ruthlessly exposes the glossy façade of middle-class respectability as a hollow world of lies, double standards, superficiality, and pretence. Behind its polished surface lies vulgarity, deceit, and desperation, as each character tries to appear more respectable, intelligent, or capable than they really are. The play’s brilliance lies in its razor-sharp dialogue, clever wordplay, surprising twists, and underlying ambiguity — all of which lay bare the ugly truths behind bourgeois pretensions.
»A Respectable Wedding is a social satire, a comedy, and a farce in which Brecht examines the double standards of the petit bourgeois society of his time. He not only sketches this social class with sharp satire, but also masterfully brings to life the personality traits of its individual members. These traits are familiar to us — even today, we recognize parts of ourselves in Brecht’s characters.
Yet the world in which the petit bourgeoisie once thrived has changed. In what context does this social class manifest itself now? Is it in the sudden accumulation of wealth and property — acquired through cryptocurrencies, political connections, or other means of disproportionate gain by those who, not long ago, were toiling in obscurity? Almost overnight, they slip into stilettos and designer shoes, scuffing the parquet floors of newly built villas   ̶  convinced they belong to the elite, or worse, are recognized as such by others. Can this phenomenon be traced in other contemporary forms?«   
                                                                                                         Primož Ekart, director