Theatrical intrigues: What caused the most notorious contentions of famous actors and directors

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The theater is almost a sacred place for art lovers. A temple where you can join the beauty, forget about problems and think about the frailty of life. To the audience, actors and directors seem to be sublime people, subtly feeling, vulnerable. And it is so difficult to imagine that behind the curtains of the temple of art, quite serious passions reign, as a result of which the best representatives of the creative intelligentsia untimely leave, friendly and creative ties collapse.

Anatoly Efros and the Taganka Theater troupe

In 1984, Yuri Lyubimov, the rebellious chief director and creator of the Taganka Theater, was stripped of his Soviet citizenship, forcing him to stay abroad forever. The theater troupe decided to fight for the return of their leader. However, the party leadership decided that the way to the Union was already closed for Lyubimov, and the theater could not exist without a leader. Anatoly Efros, a talented director, agreed to lead the brainchild of Lyubimov.

However, the actors took up arms against Efros, considering his coming to office as a betrayal. They began to spoil the life of their leader in all possible ways. The door to his apartment was propped up with a wooden bar so that he could not leave the house, they cut a sheepskin coat, openly ignored his presence in the theater.

Some actors defiantly moved to other theaters. Veniamin Smekhov and Leonid Filatov left for Sovremennik. When Efros came to the anniversary of the theater, Smekhov and Filatov read biting and evil poems addressed to him. When later Filatov ran into the Taganka Theater, he ran into Anatoly Efros, who smiled at the actor and invited him to come at any time.

And in 1987 Anatoly Efros died. The growing confrontation with the troupe, constant attacks, sabotage of actors completely exhausted the director, he had a heart attack. Of the entire troupe that took part in the persecution of the director, only Leonid Filatov admitted his guilt. A few years later, when Leonid Filatov himself from an active, energetic actor suddenly turns into a sick and almost immobilized person, he will say that this is his payback. Leonid Filatov, in memory of Anatoly Efros, will create an author's series of programs "To be remembered", where he will talk about outstanding actors and directors.

READ ALSO: Games with the death of Leonid Filatov: Why did the actor consider the last years of his life a payment for sins >>

Lyubov Orlova and Vera Maretskaya

Two famous actresses, Lyubov Orlova and Vera Maretskaya, could not compete in cinema because of too different roles. But the theatrical stage quite often became a kind of battlefield for them.

The most significant is the most recent case, with the struggle for a role in the play "Strange Mrs. Savage". Initially, she was played by Faina Ranevskaya, who appeared on stage as Mrs. Savage more than a hundred times. After Ranevskaya, referring to health problems, asked to remove her from the role, in fact, transferring Mrs. Savage to Lyubov Orlova.

But soon Vera Maretskaya appeared on the stage instead of Orlova. Lyubov Orlova went into open conflict with the director and even threatened to complain about him to the Ministry of Culture. Zavadsky begged the star for sympathy for a seriously ill colleague. By that time, Vera Maretskaya was diagnosed with an oncological disease of the brain, and Yuri Zavadsky, the ex-husband of the actress, decided to support Vera Petrovna, giving her the main role.

And a little later, in the same hospital where Maretskaya was treated, Lyubov Orlova turned out to be, who was diagnosed with an oncological disease of the pancreas. Vera Maretskaya wrote notes to Orlova, begging the latter for forgiveness. But the star of the Soviet screen did not condescend to answer. She passed away earlier than her rival. Vera Maretskaya whispered bitterly at the memorial service: "And then she was the first!"

READ ALSO: Vera Maretskaya: “Gentlemen! There is no one to live with! There is no one to live with, gentlemen! " >>

Oleg Basilashvili and Oleg Borisov

Two talented actors were approved for one role - Khlestakov in Gogol's "Inspector General" in the BDT. They took turns rehearsing for four months. The first - Basilashvili, who was looking for acting moves, put his own vision into the role. The next day, Borisov came out at the rehearsal and showed an improved version of Basilashvili's game. They tried to outplay each other, to prove to everyone their right to the role.

When the confrontation became unbearable, Oleg Basilashvili could not stand it and after another rehearsal went to Tovstonogov with a request to determine one actor for the role. There were only a few weeks left before the premiere, and Oleg Valerianovich honestly told the director that he would not be offended if Georgy Aleksandrovich made a decision in favor of Borisov.

Tovstonogov approved Basilashvili for the premiere, and the two actors communicated in an emphatically cold manner throughout their lives. Borisov could not forgive Basilashvili for the role he himself dreamed of.

READ ALSO: An inconvenient genius: Why did the Mosfilm management excommunicate actor Oleg Borisov from cinema >>

Vladimir Vysotsky and Valery Zolotukhin

When it was decided to stage Shakespeare's Hamlet at the Taganka Theater, the question of who would play the main role was not even raised. Many, including Yuri Lyubimov, understood: this is the role of Vysotsky. It was for him that the script was written and the mise-en-scenes were built.

Vladimir Vysotsky was often absent from the country, even more often he was on the set and therefore endangered the entire theatrical production process. The director decided to play it safe and began to prepare a second cast of actors, giving the main role to Valery Zolotukhin. Vysotsky considered Zolotukhin's consent to the role thoughtless and hasty. The two actors were friends, they were very much connected in life. Vladimir Semyonovich, returning from another trip, only told Valery Sergeevich that he would never agree to a role that was simply created for a friend.

Vysotsky believed: Zolotukhin betrayed himself by participating in the rehearsals of Hamlet. But in the Taganka Theater, Vysotsky remained the only Hamlet. After the death of the bard, Lyubimov removed the production from the repertoire.

It often happens that the actors, forced to work in a duet according to the director's idea, cannot stand each other's spirits. What happens on the set looks especially ironic when a duet of such performers has to play a couple in love. Among these "lucky ones" there are many famous Hollywood stars.