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АНАТОЛИЙ ЭФРОС - режиссёр, которого не смогла принять ТАГАНКА — Transcript

by За Кулисами Славы · 14,392 words · 2,228 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00On July 3, 1925, a boy was born in
0:03Kharkiv who was destined to die twice.
0:07The first time was in his student years
0:10, when the Jewish Natan Isaakovich
0:12turned into the Russian Anatoly
0:14Vasilyevich. The second time was at 61
0:17at the Taganka, where actors would cut
0:19up his shearling coat, slash his car
0:21tires, and write denunciations until
0:23his heart stopped from a heart attack.
0:27But on that July day, in the family of
0:29engineer Isaak Velkovich Efros and
0:31translator Lidia Solomonovna, no one
0:33thought about changing names, about
0:35persecution, or that their son Natan
0:37would create a theater that the
0:39authorities would ban and strangle by
0:41every means possible. The birth
0:44certificate entry was simple. Natan
0:46Isaakovich Efros, a Jewish boy in the
0:49land of victorious socialism. His
0:52father worked as an engineer at the
0:53Kharkiv Aviation Plant, earning a good
0:56salary, 400 rubles. a month. His mother
0:59translated technical literature from
1:01German and French, for another 200
1:02rubles. The family was considered
1:05well-off and educated. They rented a
1:07three-room apartment on Potebni Street,
1:10house 14, in the very center of Kharkiv
1:12. They paid 120 rubles for the
1:15apartment. Food cost 200, leaving 280
1:18for everything else. clothes, books,
1:21theater. Natan grew up in an atmosphere
1:24of books and conversations about art.
1:26His parents read a lot, went to the
1:28theater, and discussed the plays. The
1:30house had a library: Russian classics,
1:32foreign literature, and technical books
1:35. The boy learned to read at 4; by five
1:38, he was already devouring books one
1:40after another. His favorites were
1:42Andersen's fairy tales, sad stories
1:44about how beauty perishes in a cruel
1:46world. Natan would remember these tales
1:49his whole life, especially the one
1:51about the little mermaid who dissolved
1:53into sea foam. But the happy Kharkiv
1:56childhood did not last long. In 1933,
1:58his father was summoned to the plant
2:01director. They said: "The plant is
2:03being moved to Moscow, and staff go
2:05with the production.""Refusal is not an
2:08option.""It is an order from above."
2:09The family spent 3 weeks packing. They
2:11sold the furniture and packed their
2:13things into four suitcases.
2:15Eight-year-old Natan stood at the
2:16window, looking at the street where his
2:18childhood had passed. He did not know
2:21then that he would return to Kharkiv
2:23only 50 years later, when a memorial
2:25plaque would be unveiled on the house
2:28on Potebni Street, but he would no
2:30longer be alive. They arrived in Moscow
2:32in September of thirty-three. The city
2:34met them with rain and cold. The family
2:37was given a room in a communal
2:39apartment on Dolgorukovskaya Street, 20
2:41square meters for the three of them.
2:43Parents and Natan. Seven families in
2:47the apartment, one kitchen, one toilet,
2:49a bath on Wednesdays and Saturdays from
2:516:00 to 9:00 PM; neighbors were
2:53Russians, Ukrainians, and Georgians.
2:55They were wary of Jews, but there was
2:58no open hostility. Natan was sent to
3:01school number 43 in the Timiryazevsky
3:03District. He did well in school. He was
3:05particularly good at literature and
3:07history. But his classmates kept him at
3:10a distance. A Jewish boy in a school
3:12where most of the children were Russian
3:14and Ukrainian. In the thirties, that
3:17mattered. They rarely teased him, but
3:20the feeling of being an outsider never
3:22went away. Natan, be quiet, stay
3:25invisible, don't stand out. At 9 years
3:28old, something happened that changed
3:30his life forever. His parents took him
3:32to the Moscow Art Academic Theater.
3:36They were performing Chekhov's*The
3:37Cherry Orchard*. Natan sat in the
3:40auditorium, watching the stage, unable
3:42to look away. The actors lived a real
3:44life on that stage. The audience wept
3:46as the cherry orchard was cut down.
3:49Natan, not understanding why, sat
3:51motionless when the curtain fell. His
3:54father touched his shoulder. "Natan,
3:56it's time to go." The boy stood up, but
3:59one thought pounded in his head: this
4:01is it. This is what I want to do for
4:04the rest of my life. At home, he told
4:06his parents, "I want to be a director."
4:08His father laughed. "Natan, you're
4:11still a child, you don't understand.""
4:13Directors starve, they live in poverty.
4:15""Become an engineer like me; you'll
4:18have good money and respect." Natan was
4:21silent, but he had made a firm decision
4:23. I will be a director, no matter what
4:25my parents say. He signed up for the
4:28drama club at the Pioneer House on
4:29Miusskaya Square. The club was led by
4:32Vera Nikolaevna Popova, an actress
4:34fired from the theater for her Jewish
4:37heritage. She immediately noticed the
4:40quiet boy with burning eyes and began
4:41giving him roles and teaching him to
4:43understand theater. Natan went to
4:46classes three times a week after school
4:48, rehearsed until late, and returned
4:50home at 10:00 PM. His parents grumbled,
4:54but didn't forbid it. At 13, he played
4:57his first big role: the Mayor in
4:58Gogol's*The Government Inspector*, for
5:00the anniversary of the October
5:02Revolution. The premiere was on
5:04November 10, 1938, at the Pioneer House
5:07. The hall was full. Teachers, parents,
5:10students. Natan stepped onto the stage
5:13and ceased to be himself. He became the
5:16Mayor—a cowardly, greedy, vile
5:18official. He played it so well that the
5:20audience forgot about the
5:21thirteen-year-old boy. When the curtain
5:23closed, they applauded for 7 minutes.
5:26Vera Nikolaevna was in tears. A talent,
5:28a true gift from God. But in 1937 and
5:321938, the Great Terror began. A wave of
5:35arrests swept through Moscow. They were
5:37taking engineers, scientists, doctors,
5:39and teachers. Accused of sabotage,
5:42espionage, or ties to Trotskyists, they
5:45were shot without trial or sent to
5:47camps for 25 years. Seven colleagues
5:50were arrested at his father's factory;
5:52five were shot, and two were sent to
5:54Kolyma. His father would come home
5:56gray-faced, remain silent at dinner,
5:58and smoke in the kitchen late into the
6:00night. His mother wept quietly in the
6:02bedroom. Natan, they were waiting.
6:05Every night, they waited for the "black
6:07ravens" to come for his father as well.
6:10Vera Nikolaevna Popova disappeared in
6:12December 1938; she simply didn't show
6:15up for rehearsal. Natan ran to her
6:17house on Tverskaya. The neighbors said,
6:20"They took her away at night." Where,
6:22no one knew. The drama club was closed
6:24the very next day. The reason: the
6:26leader turned out to be an enemy of the
6:28people. Natan realized: in this country
6:31, talent provides no protection. The
6:34system breaks and destroys whoever it
6:36wants, but theater would not let him go
6:38. Natan read Stanislavsky, books on the
6:40Moscow Art Theater, and plays by
6:42Chekhov, Ostrovsky, and Shakespeare. He
6:45dreamed of the time when he could study
6:47theatrical arts. He did not know then
6:50that in 4 years a war would begin,
6:52crossing out all his plans. On June 22,
6:561941, Natan was 15 years old. He was
7:00preparing for his final year of school.
7:02He planned to enter a theater institute
7:04after graduation. In the morning, they
7:06turned on the radio. Molotov announced
7:08the start of the war. His father said
7:10calmly: "We are leaving. The factory is
7:12being evacuated to the Urals. The train
7:14is the day after tomorrow. We can take
7:16two suitcases per family." On June 24,
7:19they were leaving Moscow. There was a
7:22crush at the station, children crying,
7:24and shouting. Factories, institutes,
7:26and theaters were being evacuated.
7:28Thousands of people with bundles and
7:31suitcases stormed the trains. Natan,
7:34holding two suitcases, looked at the
7:36city where 8 years of his life had
7:38passed. He wondered if he would ever
7:42return. He would return, but only after
7:454 years, a completely different person.
7:47The train traveled east for 2 weeks.
7:50They rode in freight cars, 60 people in
7:52each. They slept on bunks, ate what was
7:56given at stations: bread, boiled
7:58potatoes, sometimes porridge. The cars
8:00were not heated. At night it was cold,
8:03even in July people wrapped themselves
8:05in blankets, huddling together.
8:08Children cried, old people coughed, men
8:10smoked silently on the platforms
8:12between cars. They arrived in Molotov
8:15on July 8. That was what Perm was
8:17called then. The city was packed with
8:20evacuees. Housing was assigned by
8:21rooming boards. A room in a communal
8:23apartment for three or four people. The
8:26Efros family got a 15 m² room at 22
8:29Sibirskaya Street. A communal flat on
8:33the third floor, eight families, one
8:36kitchen, one toilet. A window facing a
8:38light well, where there was never any
8:40sun. His father got a job at aircraft
8:43plant number 19, evacuated from Kharkiv
8:46. He worked as an engineer in the
8:48design bureau. Salary 500 rubles. per
8:51month. His mother got a job as a
8:53carrier at the same plant, 200 rubles.
8:55They paid 60 for the room. Food cost
8:58400, leaving 240 for everything else.
9:02Natan was assigned to youth labor
9:04school number three. An evening school
9:06for those who work during the day.
9:08Classes from 6:00 to 10:00 PM. But
9:11first, he had to find a job. By wartime
9:14law, everyone not studying in school
9:16during the day had to work in defense
9:17industries. Natan was 15, but he looked
9:21older. His father got him a job as a
9:23fitter at aircraft plant number 19. He
9:26started working on July 20, 1941.
9:30Fighter assembly workshop, 12 hours a
9:33day, 6 days a week. He turned bolts,
9:36welded parts, and brought tools to the
9:38craftsmen. His hands were covered in
9:41calluses, his back ached from constant
9:43strain. Salary 120 rubles. per month.
9:46He gave all the money to his mother.
9:48She would cry. "Natan, keep some for
9:50yourself, at least for the movies." He
9:52would shake his head. "You need it more
9:55, Mom." In the evening, after his shift
9:56, he went to school. Classes from 6:00
9:58to 10:00. He got home at 11:00, ate
10:01dinner, and collapsed onto the bed,
10:03exhausted. That was 6 days a week. On
10:06Sunday, he would sleep until noon, then
10:08do his homework. The theater was left
10:10in his past life. There was no time to
10:12even think about it. Only work, school,
10:15sleep. During the winter of '41 to '42,
10:18the famine began. The bread ration was
10:21cut to 300 grams per worker. Natan was
10:23wasting away before everyone's eyes. By
10:25the spring of '42, he weighed 48 kg at
10:28172 cm tall. The factory doctor said: "
10:32Go get a higher ration, ask for a
10:34transfer to the hot shop." The manager
10:37looked at the skinny teenager. "You'll
10:39die there in a week," but he
10:40transferred him anyway. He worked in
10:42the hot shop for a year, from the
10:44spring of '42 to the spring of '43. He
10:47forged metal, hauled red-hot parts, and
10:50breathed smoke and soot. By the summer
10:53of '43, Natan finished school for
10:55working youth and received his diploma.
10:59The school principal, Pyotr Ivanovich
11:01Gromov, said at graduation: "Efros, you
11:04have talent.""Enroll in an institute,
11:06get an education." Natan nodded
11:08silently. He knew there would be no
11:11institute. Work at the factory until
11:13the end of the war. When the war would
11:15end was unknown. But in the summer of
11:17'43, something unexpected happened in
11:19Molotov. The Moscow Mossoviet Theater
11:22was evacuated there. The troupe was led
11:25by Yuri Zavadsky, a legendary director
11:27and student of Vakhtangov. The theater
11:29performed at the Gorky House of Culture
11:31. They opened an acting studio at the
11:34theater. They were accepting anyone
11:36aged 16 and up. Classes were free,
11:38three times a week, in the evening from
11:407:00 to 10:00. Natan read the notice on
11:43the billboard by the factory gate. His
11:47heart began to beat so hard that it
11:48took his breath away. Theater, an
11:50acting studio. Yuri Zavadsky—
11:52everything he had dreamed of for 3
11:54years. He ran home and told his parents
11:56: "I'm going to the audition." His
11:58father frowned. "Natan, come to your
12:00senses, what theater during a war?""
12:02Work at the factory, be of use to the
12:04front." Natan answered quietly but
12:07firmly: "I'm going, this is my life."
12:09The audition was in September 1943.
12:13Natan went straight from the factory in
12:15his work clothes. Dirty and tired.
12:17There were about 30 people sitting in
12:18the hall. Young men and women, almost
12:22all older than him. Zavadsky sat in the
12:25front row, smoking a cigarette,
12:27watching the applicants in silence.
12:29Natan stepped onto the stage and read
12:32Chatsky's monologue from*Woe from Wit*.
12:35The same one he had learned back in
12:37Moscow in the drama club; he read
12:38simply, without overacting, honestly.
12:41When he finished, there was silence in
12:43the room. Zavadsky stood up, walked to
12:46the stage, and looked closely at the
12:48eighteen-year-old guy, thin with
12:50burning eyes in his work robe. He asked
12:53: "Why theater?" Natan, as if he felt
12:56it: "Because I can't do otherwise,
12:59because only here do I feel alive."
13:02Zavadsky nodded: "Come tomorrow, we
13:05will work." Classes at the studio began
13:08three times a week from 7:00 to 10:00
13:11p.m. Acting, stage speech, stage
13:13movement. The teachers were actors from
13:17the Mossovet Theatre. Professionals
13:19with years of experience demanded iron
13:22discipline. Late? You were kicked out
13:24without explanation. Unprepared? They
13:26would tear you apart in front of
13:28everyone. Natan worked like a man
13:30possessed. After his shift at the plant
13:32, he ran to the theater. He practiced
13:34until 10:00 PM. He got home at 11:00 PM
13:36. He studied lines until one in the
13:39morning, falling asleep with the script
13:41in hand. At 5:00 AM, he was up for the
13:43plant. Six months later, Zavadsky said,
13:46"Natan, you have talent, but not for
13:49acting. You're a director; you see the
13:52play as a whole, understand the staging
13:54, feel the rhythm. After the war, apply
13:57to GITIS for the directing department.
13:59You will become a great director if you
14:02don't break." Natan listened, not
14:04believing his own ears. Zavadsky
14:06himself was telling him this. That
14:08meant he was on the right track. That
14:09meant he had chosen the right path. By
14:11the spring of 1944, the war was waning.
14:15The Germans were being pushed west,
14:17cities were being liberated one by one.
14:19Hope had appeared. The end was near.
14:21Zavadsky announced to the students: "We
14:24are preparing to move to Moscow. The
14:26theater is returning to the capital.
14:27The studio is, too.""Those who want to
14:29continue their studies are transferring
14:31to Moscow." Natan told his parents: "
14:33I'm going to Moscow with the studio,
14:35I'm going to apply to GITIS." His
14:37father was silent for a long time, then
14:39sighed. "Do as you see fit, Natan;
14:42you're an adult now." His mother wept.
14:44"Son, what if you don't get in? Will
14:47you be left without work, without money
14:48?" Natan hugged her. "Mom, I'll get in,
14:52I promise." He left Molotov on June 20,
14:581944. His parents saw him off at the
15:00station. His mother was crying. His
15:02father stood silently, smoking. Natan
15:04hugged them both. "I'll return a famous
15:06director. You'll see." The train pulled
15:09away. Natan looked out the window at
15:11the fading city. Three years of life:
15:13the plant, hunger, and youth labor
15:16school. These three years turned a boy
15:18into a man. They taught him to endure,
15:20to work, and not to break under the
15:22blows of fate. Ahead lay Moscow, GITIS,
15:25a new life. He didn't know that a year
15:28later he would become Anatoly
15:30Vasilyevich, abandoning the name Natan
15:32Isaakovich. That this would save him
15:34from persecution during the
15:36anti-cosmopolitan campaign, and that
15:38his whole life would be lived under a
15:39different name. But on that June day,
15:42he was simply traveling to Moscow
15:43toward his dream. Moscow met Natan
15:47Efros on June 23, 1944. The city was
15:51scarred by war, but it was alive. Trams
15:53were running, theaters were open,
15:55people were busy with their affairs.
15:57Zavadsky's studio was housed in the old
16:00Mossovet Theatre building on Sverdlov
16:02Square. The students were given a
16:04dormitory on Taganka. A room for six,
16:06measuring 10 square meters. Three bunk
16:10beds, a table, six chairs, a toilet in
16:13the hallway, and a basement shower on
16:15Thursdays from 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM.
16:18Natan was given a top bunk by the
16:19window. His roommates were five guys
16:22his age, all dreaming of becoming
16:24actors. One of them, Boris Tenin, would
16:27become a famous Mayakovsky Theatre
16:29actor in 20 years. But for now, all the
16:32students were hungry and penniless.
16:34They weren't being paid a stipend. The
16:36studio was attached to the theater.
16:37There was no state funding. Everyone
16:39survived as best they could. Some
16:41worked as porters, some delivered
16:43telegrams, some scrubbed floors at the
16:45theater. Natan got a job as a night
16:48watchman at the same Mossovet Theater.
16:50He worked three nights a week from
16:5310:00 PM to 6:00 AM. He was paid 50
16:55rubles. a month, plus a 400g ration of
16:58bread per night. That money was enough
17:00to survive on. During the day, he had
17:02studio classes from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM
17:03. In the evenings, rehearsals until
17:0510:00 PM. Then the night shift until
17:076:00 AM. He slept in snatches: an hour
17:09during the day, two hours in the
17:11evening. His body was pushed to the
17:13limit. A month later, Zavadsky
17:15announced: "The most talented will be
17:17sent to GITIS for the directing faculty
17:19. Without exams, by recommendation."
17:22Among the names mentioned was Natan
17:25Efros. After the announcement, Zavadsky
17:28told him: "Natan, get ready. In
17:30September, you'll become a GITIS
17:32student. Maria Knebel's course; she's
17:34the best teacher in the country. She
17:36will make a director out of you." But
17:39before enrolling, something happened
17:41that Natan never talked about. In
17:44August '44, Zavadsky summoned him and
17:47said seriously: "Natan, we need to talk
17:50. Sit down. You are going to GITIS.
17:52This is great luck, but there is a
17:54problem. Your name is Natan Isaakovich.
17:58It's too Jewish. There is a war on now,
18:01but it will end soon. Purges will begin
18:04; they will look for enemies of the
18:06people, cosmopolitans, Jews. With a
18:08name like that, you'll be the first
18:10they identify. I advise you to change
18:12your name and patronymic to Russian
18:13ones. Many people do this. It saves
18:15lives." Natan was silent; he understood
18:18that Zavadsky was right. In '37 and '38
18:21, he had seen how Jews were taken away.
18:24He knew that after the war, it could
18:26happen again. He asked quietly: "What
18:28name should I change it to?" Zavadsky
18:30thought: "How about Anatoly Vasilyevich
18:33, in honor of Lunacharsky, the first
18:35Commissar of Education. That will look
18:38natural.""Anatoly is close to Natan;
18:41you'll get used to it quickly." Natan
18:44agreed; he understood there was no
18:46choice. Either change his name or risk
18:48everything. He went to the passport
18:51office and filed an application. Two
18:53weeks later, he received a new passport
18:54. Under the name and patronymic line,
18:57it read Anatoly Vasilyevich Efros. They
19:00didn't change the surname. Efros
19:03doesn't sound as overtly Jewish as
19:05Natan Isaakovich. He could pass for a
19:08Russified German or a Greek. And so, in
19:12August 1944, Natan Isaakovich Efros
19:15died. Anatoly Vasilyevich Efros was
19:19born. A new man with a new name. The
19:22first few days were strange. His studio
19:24comrades called him Anatoly, but he
19:26didn't respond—he wasn't used to it.
19:28A month later, he got used to it. A
19:30month after that, he forgot he had ever
19:33been Natan. Anatoly Vasilyevich became
19:36his real name. Natan no longer existed.
19:40On September 1, 1944, Anatoly Efros
19:43became a student at the GITIS directing
19:45faculty. He was enrolled directly into
19:48the second year. The year at Zavadsky's
19:50studio was credited as his first. He
19:53studied in the workshop of Nikolai
19:55Petrov and Maria Knebel, the country's
19:58best teachers, who raised a generation
20:00of great directors. Maria Knebel
20:03impressed him from the very first
20:04lesson. A woman in her fifties, lean,
20:07stern, with piercing eyes. A student of
20:10Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko.
20:12She saw right through every student and
20:14could smell a fake from a mile away. In
20:17the first class, she said, "I do not
20:19teach a craft, I teach the truth." On
20:21stage, an actor must not play; they
20:23must live. A director must not
20:25manipulate the actors. They must help
20:27them find the character's truth. If you
20:30don't understand this, leave now. You
20:32will save me and yourself some time. No
20:34one left. Anatoly listened with bated
20:37breath. This was what he had been
20:39looking for. Truth on the stage. Life
20:41instead of acting. Knebel became more
20:43than just a teacher to him. She became
20:46a mentor, a teacher of life. Everything
20:48he would later create in theater would
20:51be based on her lessons. He studied
20:53with fanatical persistence. Classes six
20:55days a week from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00
20:57p.m. In the evenings, he rehearsed
20:59student plays until 11:00 p.m. Then,
21:01three nights a week, he worked as a
21:02night watchman, sleeping four hours a
21:04day. His body was pushed to its limits.
21:07But Anatoly didn't notice the fatigue.
21:09He lived for the theater. Only the
21:12theater mattered. In his third year,
21:15Knebel assigned them to stage an
21:17excerpt from a classic play. Anatoly
21:19chose Ostrovsky's "The Storm." He
21:22worked for six months, rehearsing with
21:24the actors eight hours a day. He
21:26demanded the same thing from them that
21:29Knebel demanded of him: honesty, truth,
21:31and life on stage. The premiere was in
21:35May 1948 at the GITIS student theater.
21:38Knebel sat in the audience, watching
21:40silently. When the curtain closed, she
21:43walked up to Anatoly and said quietly,
21:45so no one would hear. You possess the
21:47fundamental understanding of theater.
21:50You will be a great director. Just
21:52don't break under the system's pressure
21:54. Anatoly remembered those words
21:56forever. Don't break under the system's
21:59pressure. Knebel knew what she was
22:01talking about. She herself had endured
22:03harassment, layoffs, and bans. She
22:05warned him that the Soviet authorities
22:08did not like talented people. They
22:09liked the obedient ones. Whoever didn't
22:12fit the mold was broken or destroyed.
22:15In 1948-1949, a campaign against
22:21cosmopolitans swept across the country.
22:24Jewish intellectuals were arrested,
22:27accused of fawning over the West, of
22:29cosmopolitanism, and Zionism. Actors
22:31and directors with Jewish surnames were
22:33fired from theaters. Three Jewish
22:36students were expelled from GITIS. The
22:38reason: "unreliable background."
22:41Anatoly was not touched. Anatoly
22:44Vasilievich Efros. It sounds almost
22:46Russian. On his forms, he wrote his
22:48nationality as Russian. No one checked.
22:51Changing his name in forty-four had
22:53saved his life and career. Natan
22:55Isakovich Efros would have been
22:57expelled and arrested. Anatoly
23:00Vasilievich Efros continued to study.
23:02He graduated from GITIS in 1950. He
23:06received a drama directing degree with
23:08honors. Knebel wrote in a
23:10recommendation: "Efros is one of the
23:12most talented students I have ever
23:15known." He possesses a rare gift; he
23:17sees the truth. I recommend him for
23:19work at the country's best theaters.
23:21But there was no work. No one would
23:23hire a twenty-five-year-old director
23:25with no experience. He spent four
23:26months wearing out his shoes at Moscow
23:28theaters. The answer was the same
23:30everywhere. No vacancies, no open
23:32positions. Come back in a year. His
23:34money ran out, and he was kicked out of
23:36the dormitory. The room was needed for
23:39new students. He rented a corner in a
23:41communal apartment in Preobrazhenskoye
23:43for 40 rubles. per month. A room of
23:45eight square meters with a cantankerous
23:47landlady who threatened to evict him
23:49for every late payment. He got by on
23:52odd jobs. He wrote reviews of plays for
23:55the theater magazine "Soviet Stage." 15
23:58rubles. per article. He worked as an
24:01assistant director at the Railway
24:02Workers 'House of Culture. 70 rubles.
24:05per month. He staged amateur plays with
24:08workers—primitive propaganda about
24:11labor feats. He hated this work, but he
24:14had no choice. The breakthrough
24:17happened in January 1951. The director
24:20of the Railway Workers' House of
24:21Culture suggested staging a major play
24:23for the anniversary of the revolution.
24:26The play, "Prague Remains Mine," by the
24:29Czechoslovak playwright Yuri
24:30Buryakovsky. An ideological piece about
24:34communists fighting against imperialism
24:36. But Anatoly managed to turn it into
24:39something alive. The amateur actors
24:42played not slogans, but people with
24:44real feelings, fears, and hopes. The
24:47premiere was on January 20, 1951. The
24:51hall was full. 300 people. They
24:54applauded for 7 minutes. The next day,
24:57a review appeared in the newspaper "
24:59Pravda.""The talented young director
25:02Efros showed how modern drama should be
25:04staged; a fresh perspective, deep
25:06understanding of the material." A week
25:08later, he received a call from the
25:10Moscow Regional Drama Theater named
25:12after Ostrovsky. They proposed he
25:14direct the play "Come to Zvonkovoye," a
25:17comedy by Korniychuk. A Soviet play
25:19about the happy lives of collective
25:20farmers. Anatoly agreed without
25:22hesitation. At least it was some kind
25:24of work in a real theater, not amateur
25:26dramatics. The premiere was in April
25:301951. The play was a success. Critics
25:33praised the young director. Audiences
25:35turned out. Anatoly was offered a
25:36position as a staff director at the
25:38theater. Salary: 400 rubles. He thought
25:41about it for two weeks and refused. He
25:44realized he would rot in a regional
25:45theater, staging ideological propaganda
25:48his whole life. He needed something
25:50else. In the summer of 1951, a call
25:53came from Ryazan. The Ryazan Drama
25:55Theater was looking for a stage
25:57director. Director Pyotr Ivanovich
25:59Morozov offered him the position with a
26:01salary of 500 rubles. Housing: a room
26:04in the dormitory attached to the
26:05theater. Anatoly agreed: "Ryazan is the
26:08provinces, but there I will have
26:11freedom.""No one will be looming over
26:13me." He worked in Ryazan for 2 years:
26:16from August 1951 to June 1953. He
26:21staged eight plays: "Lyubov Yarovaya"
26:23by Trenyov, "The Dog in the Manger" by
26:26Lope de Vega, "The Hot Heart" by
26:28Ostrovsky, "The Stepmother" based on
26:31Balzac, and "Love at Dawn" by Galan. He
26:33worked like a man possessed, rehearsing
26:3610-12 hours a day. He demanded total
26:39dedication from his actors, was strict,
26:41and didn't tolerate hack work. The
26:43actors were afraid of him, but they
26:44respected him. The plays were a success
26:46, the halls were full, and the reviews
26:49were glowing. People began talking
26:51about the young director from Moscow
26:52not only in Ryazan, but in the capital
26:54as well. But Anatoly understood: this
26:56was his ceiling; he needed to return to
26:59Moscow. In the spring of 1954, Maria
27:02Knebel called and said, "Tolya, come
27:05back. The Central Children's Theatre is
27:08waiting for you. We need a stage
27:10director. I am now the chief director
27:12of this theater. I want you to work
27:14with me. The salary is 700 rubles. A
27:17bunk in the actors 'dormitory. Come.
27:21Anatoly returned to Moscow in June 1954
27:24. He was 28 years old. Behind him was
27:28GITIS, 2 years in Ryazan, and eight
27:30staged plays. Knebel welcomed him
27:33joyfully:" Tolya, save the theater. It
27:35is dying. There are no spectators. The
27:37repertoire is old. The actors are
27:39leaving. Do whatever you want, just
27:41bring the audience back. "The Central
27:43Children's Theatre was located on
27:45Sverdlov Square, next to the Bolshoi. A
27:48small hall with 250 seats, a tiny stage
27:51, a troupe of 15 people, half of them
27:53pensioners. The repertoire was fairy
27:56tales for little ones. About 30
27:58spectators per show. The theater was
28:00dying slowly but surely. Anatoly began
28:03with the repertoire, abandoned fairy
28:05tales, and decided to stage plays for
28:07teenagers and youth. Victor Rozov wrote
28:09about the problems of the young
28:11generation. First love, choosing a
28:13profession, conflicts with parents.
28:16Anatoly read his plays and realized:
28:18this is it, this needs to be staged. He
28:21recruited young actors. Oleg Efremov,
28:2326 years old, a graduate of the Moscow
28:25Art Theatre School. Oleg Tabakov, 19
28:28years old, a student at the same school
28:31. Lev Durov, 24 years old, graduated
28:34from the Shchukin School a year earlier
28:36. They were young, talented, and hungry
28:39for work. Anatoly saw a spark in them.
28:42He knew he could make them stars. He
28:45staged" Good Hour! "By Rozov, in the
28:48autumn of 1954. A play about school
28:51kids choosing their path in life. No
28:53ideology, no slogans. Just living
28:56teenagers with real problems. He
28:58rehearsed for 4 months, 8 hours a day.
29:01He demanded iron discipline. Late for
29:04rehearsal? A 100-ruble fine. Didn't
29:06learn the lines? A dressing-down in
29:08front of everyone. Faked it? You’ll
29:10redo the scene until you get it right.
29:11Truth. The premiere was on December 4,
29:161954. The hall was full. Critics,
29:18directors from other theaters, students
29:20. The play lasted 2 and a half hours.
29:23The hall sat in silence, holding its
29:25breath. When the curtain closed, they
29:27applauded for 12 minutes. They were
29:29called back for bows six times. The
29:31next day, a review in Pravda. A new
29:34theater, a new director, and a new
29:36generation of actors had appeared in
29:38Moscow. From that moment on, the
29:40Central Children's Theatre ceased to be
29:42just for children. Adults, students,
29:45intellectuals—those seeking real art
29:47—began coming here. Tickets were sold
29:50out a month in advance. Every
29:52performance was a sell-out. Anatoly
29:54Efros became a famous director at 28.
29:58For the next 9 years, he worked as the
29:59chief director of the CDT. From 1954 to
30:031963, he directed 16 plays. He
30:07continued working with Rozov on" In
30:09Search of Joy "and" Unequal Battle "and
30:11" Before Dinner. "He staged classics
30:14like" Boris Godunov. "" Marriage. "Each
30:16play became an event. Newspapers wrote
30:19about them, critics argued, and
30:21students discussed them. Efros created
30:23his own psychological theater method
30:26based on Stanislavsky. Truth is what
30:28matters most. On stage, the actor
30:30doesn't act, but lives. The audience
30:32forgets they are in a theater,
30:34believing real life is unfolding before
30:36them. Actors who worked with Efros
30:38became stars. Efremov created
30:40Sovremennik and became the country's
30:42leading director. Tabakov founded the
30:44Tabakerka. Durov became a People's
30:46Artist. Everyone said:" Efros made us
30:49actors. "In 1963, something unexpected
30:53happened. Efros was offered to head the
30:57Lenkom Theater. Lenkom was going
30:59through a crisis. Audiences weren't
31:01coming, the repertoire was outdated,
31:03and actors were leaving. A director was
31:05needed to revive the theater. Anatoly
31:07thought about it for a month. He didn't
31:09want to leave the Central Children's
31:11Theater. He had his own troupe, his own
31:13theater, and success there. But Lenkom
31:15was a challenge. An opportunity to
31:18build a great theater with famous
31:20actors. He decided in November. I'm
31:22going. He took charge of Lenkom on
31:25December 10, 1963. He was 38 years old.
31:29Four years of work lay ahead. Four
31:31years that would bring triumph and
31:34collapse simultaneously. He didn't know
31:37that in March '67 he would be fired for
31:39the play" Molière, "starting a
31:41persecution that wouldn't end until his
31:43death. But on that December day, he was
31:47simply starting work with the hope of
31:49creating a great theater. Lenkom met
31:51Efros with cold distrust. The troupe
31:54was used to working calmly, without
31:56strain. Going through the motions,
31:59autopilot performances, no shocks. The
32:01actors earned a salary of 350 rubles.
32:04They played roles mechanically and
32:06lived a steady life. The arrival of a
32:09new head director with iron demands
32:11terrified everyone. Anatoly began
32:14radically. He fired seven actors out of
32:16fifteen. He kept only those ready to
32:19work for real. He brought in young
32:21talent. Valentin Gaft, 28, just
32:23finished the Moscow Art Theater School.
32:26Alexander Zbruev, 24, a graduate of the
32:29Shchukin School. Mikhail Derzhavin, 26,
32:32an actor without a big name. Alexander
32:36Shirvindt, 30, worked at the Satire
32:38Theater. Olga Yakovleva, 29, an actress
32:42with huge potential. He announced new
32:45rules: rehearsals from 9:00 AM to 9:00
32:47PM. A one-hour break for lunch. A 5-
32:49minute delay meant a 100-ruble fine.
32:52Didn't learn the text by the deadline?
32:54A 200-ruble fine. Faked it during
32:56rehearsals? We redo the scene from
32:58scratch until it feels true. The stage
33:01is a sacred place. There is no room for
33:04lies here. The actors weren't used to
33:05this approach. The first months were
33:08hell. Scandals every day. Yakovleva
33:10cried after rehearsals. Anatoly
33:13Vasilyevich demands the impossible.
33:15Gaft would snap, shouting:" We aren't
33:18machines, give us a break! "Zbruev left
33:21for a week, writing a resignation
33:23letter. Anatoly called him in and said:
33:25" Calm down, either you work as I
33:27demand, or you leave for good. "Zbruev
33:30tore up the letter and stayed. After 3
33:32months, they got used to it and
33:34realized the director was right. That
33:36is the only way true theater is born.
33:38Only through pain, through overcoming
33:40oneself, can something great be created
33:42. They began working in a new way, with
33:44total dedication, without falsehood,
33:46honestly. He staged his first play," On
33:49the Wedding Day, "in the spring of 1964
33:51. The premiere was on March 18th. A
33:54play by Rozov about a young couple who
33:56get a divorce on their own wedding day.
33:59A deep psychological drama without a
34:01single false note. Yakovleva and Gaft
34:03performed so well that the audience was
34:05weeping. After the play, people sat
34:07motionless for 5 minutes, unable to
34:09recover, then applauded for 15 minutes.
34:12The reviews the next day were
34:14enthusiastic. Pravda wrote:" Efros
34:16revived Lenkom in 3 months. "Soviet
34:19Culture." A young director is creating
34:21a new theater. "Literary Gazette." The
34:24play stuns with its honesty and pain. "
34:27In 1964–65, he staged two more plays
34:31by Radzinsky." 104 Pages About Love "
34:35and" My Poor Marat. "Tickets were sold
34:38out 2 months in advance. Critics wrote:
34:40" Efros is creating a new theater. "
34:43Within 2 years, Lenkom became the
34:45leading theater in Moscow. The entire
34:47intelligentsia came here: students,
34:50scientists, writers, artists, those
34:52seeking real art. Efros became a star.
34:55Newspapers wrote about him, he was
34:57invited to speak at meetings with youth
35:00, asked to direct in other cities, but
35:02success bred enemies. Officials from
35:04the Ministry of Culture looked at Efros
35:07with suspicion. His plays showed life
35:10too honestly, without embellishment,
35:12without slogans about a bright future.
35:15They showed people with their
35:17weaknesses, fears, pain, and loneliness
35:19. This did not fit into the official
35:22worldview of the happy Soviet person.
35:24In 1966, Anatoly decided to stage
35:27Chekhov’s" The Seagull. "A classic,
35:30tested by time. It seemed there
35:32shouldn't be any problems. He rehearsed
35:34for six months, working with the actors
35:37on every line, every gesture, every
35:39pause. He demanded maximum honesty."
35:42The Seagull "should not be a museum
35:44piece, but a living statement about
35:46modernity. The premiere was on
35:49September 27, 1966. The hall was full.
35:53300 people. The play lasted 3 hours.
35:56Efros presented" The Seagull "as a
35:58tragedy of misunderstanding and
35:59loneliness. People are side by side,
36:01but each is locked in their own world.
36:03Each is suffering but cannot reach out
36:06to their neighbor. Yakovleva as Nina
36:08was heartbreaking. Gaft created a
36:10Treplev who was talented but doomed to
36:13misunderstanding and death. The
36:15audience gave a standing ovation for 20
36:17minutes. Critics wrote enthusiastic
36:19reviews. But a week later, a commission
36:21from the Ministry of Culture came to
36:22the theater. Three officials in gray
36:25suits watched the play in silence and
36:27left without saying a word. Three days
36:29later, they wrote a report. The
36:30conclusion: the play is ideologically
36:32harmful. It portrays Soviet people as
36:35unhappy, lonely, and lost. This is
36:37slander against Soviet reality; it is
36:39recommended to be removed from the
36:41repertoire. Anatoly tried to fight it
36:43and wrote a letter to the ministry. On
36:45five pages, he explained:"' The Seagull
36:47'was written in 1896. "" It is
36:50pre-revolutionary Russia. "" What does
36:52that have to do with Soviet reality? "
36:53But the officials were unrelenting. And
36:56they remained unyielding. A month later
36:59, an order signed by Minister Ekaterina
37:01Furtseva was issued." The Seagull "was
37:03to be removed from the repertoire.
37:06Efros received a reprimand for a
37:07repertoire that did not meet the
37:09theater's objectives. But the true
37:11catastrophe happened with" Molière. "
37:14In that same year, 1966, Anatoly began
37:16rehearsing a play based on Bulgakov’s
37:19" The Life of Monsieur de Molière. "A
37:22story of a great playwright destroyed
37:24by those in power. Molière created
37:26brilliant comedies, but the king and
37:29church hounded him, banned his plays,
37:31and ruined his theater. In the finale,
37:34Molière died on stage during a
37:35performance. Defeated, broken, but not
37:39yielding. Anatoly understood that they
37:41were staging a dangerous piece. The
37:43parallels to the present were obvious
37:45to everyone. The artist and the state,
37:48creativity and censorship, freedom and
37:50oppression. But he could not refuse.
37:53This theme burned from within. He
37:55wanted to speak out, to tell the truth
37:58about how the system breaks talented
38:00people and how power kills art. He
38:03rehearsed for eight months with
38:05inspiration. The actors understood they
38:07were creating something important and
38:09dangerous. They performed with total
38:11commitment. Gaft, in the role of
38:13Molière, created the image of an
38:14artist whom the authorities were slowly
38:16killing. Every ban and every
38:18humiliation sapped his strength. In the
38:21finale, Molière dies not from illness,
38:23but from the powerlessness to change
38:25anything in a world ruled by lies and
38:26vileness. The premiere was on February
38:3020, 1967. The hall was silent
38:32throughout the entire performance. When
38:34the curtain closed, they sat motionless
38:36for a minute, then began to rise. The
38:38standing ovation lasted 25 minutes.
38:41People wept openly, understanding it
38:43was about them—about Soviet artists
38:45broken by the system, directors
38:47forbidden from staging plays, writers
38:49who couldn't get published, and
38:51everyone trying to create honest art in
38:53a country of lies. The next day,
38:56representatives of the Party Central
38:58Committee watched the play. Four people
39:00in civilian clothes sat in a box,
39:02watching in silence and taking notes.
39:05After the play, they left without
39:07applauding. A week later, Efros was
39:09summoned to the Ministry of Culture.
39:11Minister Furtseva's office on Kitaysky
39:14Passage. A large desk, portraits of
39:16Lenin and Brezhnev on the walls.
39:18Furtseva sat at the desk, with three
39:21officials nearby. Anatoly stood before
39:23them as if during an interrogation.
39:25Furtseva spoke in an icy voice:"
39:27Comrade Efros, you are crossing all
39:30boundaries. Your Molière is a direct
39:33allusion to Soviet power. You are
39:35showing that we are stifling artists.
39:37Just as King Louis stifled Molière.
39:40This is slander, anti-Soviet propaganda
39:42. We gave you a theater, we gave you
39:45creative freedom, and you use it
39:47against us. "Anatoly tried to object:"
39:50Comrade Minister, Molière is the 17th
39:53century, France, absolutism. What
39:56connection does it have to the Soviet
39:57Union? "Furtseva cut him off." Do not
39:59pretend to be naive. The whole audience
40:02saw those parallels. As of today, you
40:04are removed from the position of head
40:06director of the Leninsky Komsomol
40:07Theater. The play' Molière 'is banned.
40:11The order will be signed tomorrow. "
40:13This happened in March 1967. Anatoly
40:17was 41 years old. Four years of work at
40:20Lenkom ended in disaster. He was
40:23declared an ideologically harmful
40:25director. He was effectively banned
40:26from directing in Moscow. His career
40:28seemed to be over. The Lenkom actors
40:32were devastated. Ten people handed in
40:34their resignations. They wanted to
40:37leave along with Efros. Among them were
40:39Durov, Yakovleva, Sbruyev, and Gaft.
40:43Those who understood that without Efros
40:45, Lenkom would revert to a mediocre
40:47theater. But the ministry offered a
40:50compromise. They didn't ban Efros from
40:52the profession entirely. They offered
40:54him the position of a staff director at
40:56the Malaya Bronnaya Theater. Not the
40:58chief director, but an ordinary one.
41:00One of several directors with no right
41:02to influence theater policy. They
41:04allowed him to take ten actors from
41:06Lenkom with him. Anatoly agreed,
41:08realizing he had no choice. Either
41:12Malaya Bronnaya or no work at all, with
41:14a black mark. He moved to the Malaya
41:17Bronnaya Theater in April 1967. Durov,
41:21Yakovleva, Volkov, Bronevoy, and six
41:24others came with him. The chief
41:27director was Andrei Goncharov. A calm,
41:29non-confrontational man, Anatoly
41:31Vasilyevich told Efros at their first
41:33meeting:" Direct whatever you want,
41:35just don't interfere with my repertoire
41:37. "Each had their own productions.
41:39Anatoly nodded. It was settled. He
41:42began rehearsing his first play
41:44immediately. Chekhov's" Three Sisters.
41:47"The very play he had wanted to stage
41:49at Lenkom. He worked with a frantic
41:52energy born of despair. Rehearsing 14
41:55hours a day without days off. He
41:57demanded the utmost dedication from his
41:59actors." Three Sisters "was to be his
42:02answer to the system, proof that he
42:04hadn't been broken, silenced, or had
42:06his talent destroyed. He rehearsed for
42:10four months, portraying" Three Sisters
42:12"as a tragedy of lost time and
42:14shattered hopes. The heroines dream of
42:16moving to Moscow and starting a new
42:18life. But years pass, and nothing
42:21changes. They grow old, dreams die, and
42:24life passes them by in vain. In the
42:26finale, the sisters stand on an empty
42:28stage, embracing. They realize: there
42:31will be no Moscow, no new life. It’s
42:34all over. Only memories remain of what
42:36could have been. The premiere was on
42:40September 27, 1967. The audience
42:43remained silent throughout the
42:44performance. When the curtain fell,
42:45they didn't applaud for a full minute.
42:48They sat motionless, unable to move.
42:50Then they began to rise, one by one.
42:53The ovation lasted 25 minutes. People
42:56wept, unashamed of their tears,
42:58realizing it was about them—about
43:00Soviet people who dream of a different
43:02life but cannot attain it. About
43:05everyone living with shattered hopes.
43:07The next day, a ministry commission
43:09returned to the theater. They watched
43:12the play and wrote a scathing report.
43:14Efros’s" Three Sisters "depicts
43:16Soviet people as miserable, hopeless,
43:19and doomed. It is pessimism, decadence,
43:22and a smear on reality." The production
43:25must be banned immediately. "A week
43:27later, the order was issued." Three
43:28Sisters "was pulled from the repertoire
43:30after twelve performances. Anatoly
43:32understood that war had been declared,
43:34seriously and for a long time. The
43:36system would suffocate him, ban every
43:38production, and prevent him from
43:40working. But he didn't intend to give
43:42up; he continued to direct in spite of
43:43everything. Subsequent productions were
43:46also banned or slammed in the press.
43:48Several actors from Lenkom couldn't
43:50take it anymore and left. But Yakovleva
43:52, Durov, Volkov, and Bronevoy stayed
43:54with them. He continued to work. In
43:571968, Goncharov was replaced as chief
44:01director. The new one was Alexander
44:03Dunaev. A calm, kind-hearted man who
44:06didn't hinder Efros, he said," Tolya,
44:08direct what your soul desires. I won't
44:12interfere with your work. "That was a
44:13stroke of luck. Efros effectively
44:15gained freedom of action within the
44:17theater and began creating his own
44:19theater inside the theater on Malaya
44:21Bronnaya. He worked here for the next
44:2416 years, from 1968 to 1984. He staged
44:3032 plays. Shakespeare’s Romeo and
44:33Juliet. Turgenev’s A Month in the
44:35Country, Gogol’s Marriage,
44:37Molière’s Don Juan, Shakespeare’s
44:38Othello, Molière’s Tartuffe. Each
44:41one became an event. Tickets were sold
44:43out three months in advance. Critics
44:45wrote:" Under Efros, the Malaya
44:47Bronnaya became the country's leading
44:49theater, despite bans and persecution.
44:52"But in 1979, new problems began. Efros
44:56staged" The Road "based on Gogol’s
44:59poem" Dead Souls. "The production
45:01turned out heavy, experimental, and
45:03difficult to understand. Critics
45:04savaged it, the audience didn't accept
45:06it. The first serious failure in years
45:09of work. In 1982, he staged a new
45:12version of" Three Sisters. "15 years
45:14had passed since his first production
45:16of it. He wanted to rethink Chekhov
45:18anew, but the play didn't succeed. The
45:21actors performed tiredly, and the
45:22audience left during the intermission.
45:25Critics were harsh in their reviews.
45:27Efros is burned out, repeating himself,
45:29having lost his touch. Intrigues began
45:31in the theater. Director Iosif Kogan
45:34didn't like Efros. He felt the director
45:37was acting like the owner. Although not
45:40formally the chief director, he began
45:42writing denunciations to the ministry,
45:44demanding Efros be removed and a
45:46compliant person appointed. Dunaev
45:48defended Efros as best he could. He
45:50said:" Tolya is a genius; without him,
45:52the theater will die. "But Kogan was
45:55persistent and influential. He
45:56continued writing complaints and
45:58collecting compromising material. In
46:001984, he got his way. The ministry
46:04decided to remove both Efros and Dunaev
46:07from the theater. In February 1984,
46:11they told Anatoly:" You are dismissed
46:13at your own request by way of transfer.
46:16"To where? To the Taganka Theater, as
46:19chief director, replacing Yuri Lyubimov
46:21. During foreign tours, Lyubimov had
46:24criticized the Soviet government. He
46:26was stripped of his citizenship and
46:28forbidden from returning. The Taganka
46:30was left without a leader. Anatoly
46:32understood it was a trap. The Taganka
46:35troupe idolized Lyubimov. They would
46:38meet a new leader as a traitor, a
46:40strikebreaker, an enemy. But there was
46:42no choice. Either the Taganka, or the
46:46end of his career at 58. He agreed in
46:49March 1984. He took charge of the
46:53Taganka Theater. Three years of hell
46:55lay ahead. Three years that would kill
46:58him. He didn't know the actors would
47:01boycott him, cut up his sheepskin coat
47:03in the cloakroom, puncture his car
47:04tires, and write collective letters
47:06demanding the removal of the traitor.
47:10That Filatov and Smekhov would
47:11demonstratively leave for Sovremennik,
47:13that the artist Borovsky would refuse
47:15to work with him, that Lyubimov from
47:17Paris would call him a scab and a Judas
47:19, and that in 3 years his heart
47:21wouldn't take it, stopping from a heart
47:23attack right in his apartment. But on
47:26that March day, he was simply walking
47:28to the Taganka with the hope of
47:30creating something great from the ruins
47:32of someone else's theater. The Taganka
47:34Theater met Efros with silence. In
47:37March 1984, he entered the building at
47:4176 Zemlyanoy Val. The first thing he
47:44saw were posters with Yuri Lyubimov’s
47:46name crossed out, replaced by a blank
47:48space instead of his last name. An
47:50order from the Ministry of Culture.
47:51Lyubimov's name is forbidden from being
47:53mentioned in any documents. He no
47:56longer exists. Erased from the history
47:59of the theater he built for 20 years.
48:01Anatoly went up to the artistic
48:03director’s office on the second floor
48:05. A 15-square-meter room. The window
48:08overlooks a dirty courtyard. A desk,
48:10three chairs, and a wardrobe. On the
48:12walls, traces of removed photographs of
48:14Lyubimov. Theater director Boris
48:16Khmelnitsky stood by the window,
48:18looking at Anatoly coldly, and said
48:21dryly. Anatoly Vasilyevich, you have
48:23been appointed chief director by
48:25ministry order. The troupe is assembled
48:27and waiting in the hall. I will
48:29introduce you now. They went down to
48:30the hall. 50 people sat in the seats.
48:33They looked at Anatoly in silence.
48:35Recognizable faces: Alla Demidova,
48:38Valery Zolotukhin, Veniamin Smekhov,
48:40Leonid Filatov, Nikolai Gubenko. The
48:43stars of Taganka—Lyubimov’s actors,
48:45those who had created the legend of
48:47this theater for 20 years. Khmelnitsky
48:50said briefly:" Comrades, meet him.
48:52Anatoly Vasilyevich Efros, your new
48:55artistic director. "Then he left,
48:58leaving Anatoly alone in front of the
49:00troupe. Anatoly stood on stage, looked
49:03into the hall, and felt the hatred
49:05coming from every row. No one applauded
49:08, no one smiled. They sat motionless,
49:11as if at a funeral. He began to speak:"
49:14Comrades, I understand your feelings.
49:17Lyubimov created a great theater. I
49:19have no intention of breaking anything.
49:21I want to preserve what he built, to
49:24work together, to create new plays. "
49:27Demidova stood up and said in an icy
49:29voice." Anatoly Vasilyevich, you have
49:32taken the place of a man the
49:34authorities drove out, you agreed to
49:36become a scab. "" We do not want to
49:38work with you, we do not want to see
49:40you in this theater. "" Leave before it
49:42is too late. "She sat down. The hall
49:44was silent. Anatoly stood there, not
49:46knowing how to respond. He realized at
49:48that moment he had made a terrible
49:50mistake. He should have refused at any
49:53cost, not come here. But there was
49:56nowhere to retreat. The ministry order
49:58was signed. The contract was finalized.
50:01To refuse meant to be left without work
50:03, without money. He said quietly. I
50:05will not leave, I will work. Whoever
50:08wants to, work with me. Whoever does
50:10not want to, leave. But I am staying.
50:14He walked out of the hall under a heavy
50:16silence, went up to his office, closed
50:18the door, sat at the desk, and put his
50:20head in his hands. His heart was
50:22beating so hard that it took his breath
50:24away. His left arm went numb. He took
50:27the Validol from his pocket, placed it
50:28under his tongue, and waited ten
50:30minutes for the relief to kick in. A
50:33week later, rehearsals for the first
50:35play began. Efros decided to revive
50:37Chekhov's*The Cherry Orchard*. The play
50:40had been in the Taganka repertoire
50:42since 1975. Directed by Lyubimov. The
50:45lead role of Lopakhin was played by
50:47Vladimir Vysotsky. After his death in
50:501980, the play was pulled. Efros wanted
50:53to bring it back and reinterpret it
50:55entirely. The first rehearsal was on
50:57April 15th. Efros arrived at the
50:59rehearsal hall at 9:00 AM. He waited
51:02until 10:00. No one showed up. He
51:04called the director," Boris
51:05Nikolayevich, where are the actors? "
51:07Khmelitsky replied with indifference."
51:09I don't know, maybe they forgot, or
51:11maybe they don't want to. "" You saw
51:13how they greeted you yourself. "Efros
51:15went down to the dressing rooms and
51:17knocked on the doors. No one opened; he
51:20stood in the hallway for 10 minutes,
51:22then returned to his office and stared
51:24out the window. He realized this would
51:27be a war of attrition. Either they
51:29would break him, or he would turn the
51:31situation around. The next day, he
51:33called for rehearsals again. Only Alla
51:35Demidova showed up. She stood at the
51:38door and said coldly." Anatoly
51:40Vasilyevich, I came to tell you
51:42personally: we will not work with you.
51:45"" Lyubimov created this theater. "" He
51:47is our teacher, our director, our
51:50friend. "" You are a traitor and a
51:52strikebreaker. "" Leave voluntarily,
51:54and save at least a shred of dignity. "
51:57She turned around and left. Efros sat
51:59alone in the empty rehearsal hall until
52:01evening. He thought about what to do.
52:04Complain to the ministry? Fire the
52:06defiant actors, but that would seal his
52:09fate as a state director, an
52:11executioner destroying Lyubimov's
52:13theater by government order. No, he had
52:16to find another way. He remembered
52:18there were young actors in the troupe,
52:20the ones Lyubimov had recruited shortly
52:22before leaving. They hadn't been with
52:25him for 20 years, perhaps they would
52:26agree to work. He called the
52:28administrator, asked for a list of the
52:30younger ones, and got eight names.
52:33Among them was Dmitry Pevtsov. 22 years
52:35old, only a year in the theater.
52:38Alexander Yatsko, 25, and Nikolai
52:41Bendera, 27. He summoned them one by
52:44one. He spoke honestly:" I understand
52:46you are loyal to Lyubimov, but he isn't
52:48coming back. "" He was stripped of his
52:50citizenship and banned from entering
52:52the USSR. "" A theater without work
52:55will die. "" I am offering to put on
52:57plays, to work, instead of waiting for
52:59what will never happen. "The young
53:02actors wavered and conferred among
53:04themselves. They were afraid of the
53:06anger of their senior colleagues. But a
53:07week later, three agreed: Pevtsov,
53:10Yatsko, and Bendera. The others refused
53:13. With those three, Efros began
53:15rehearsing*The Cherry Orchard*. He
53:18added a few actors of his own from
53:20Malaya Bronnaya, Olga Yakovleva for the
53:23role of Ranevskaya, and Nikolai Volkov
53:26as Gaev. He rehearsed for 3 months,
53:29working as strictly as ever, 12 hours a
53:32day. He demanded total commitment.
53:34Honesty on stage. The premiere was in
53:38August 1984. The hall was full. 300
53:41people. Critics, theater scholars, and
53:43ordinary spectators. The play lasted 3
53:46and a half hours. Efros presented The
53:48Cherry Orchard as a tragedy of time
53:50that cannot be reclaimed. Ranevskaya
53:53sells the estate not because she is
53:55foolish or frivolous, but because the
53:57past is dead, the old world is over,
53:59and the new one has yet to be born.
54:02Between them lies a void where there is
54:04no room for either the past or the
54:06future. The audience gave a standing
54:08ovation for 15 minutes. The reviews the
54:10next day were rapturous. Pravda wrote
54:13that Efros had proven he was worthy of
54:15heading the Taganka. Sovetskaya Kultura
54:19: The director created his own
54:20interpretation of Chekhov, rivaling the
54:23best productions. Literaturnaya Gazeta:
54:26The performance stuns with its depth
54:27and honesty, but the success did not
54:29help within the theater. The veteran
54:32Taganka actors boycotted Efros even
54:34more harshly. In July 1984, Leonid
54:38Filatov and Veniamin Smekhov submitted
54:41their resignations. The reason was
54:43their disagreement with Efros's
54:45appointment. They left for Sovremennik
54:47to join their colleague Efremov. Set
54:49designer David Borovsky, who had
54:51designed Lyubimov's plays for 20 years,
54:53refused to work with Efros. He said
54:55openly:" I will not help a traitor. "
54:58Efros endured it in silence. He hired
55:00new actors and brought in young
55:02directors. In the autumn of eighty-four
55:05, he invited Anatoly Vasiliev to work
55:07there. Vasiliev staged experimental
55:09plays on the Taganka's small stage.
55:12Efros gave him complete freedom, did
55:14not interfere, and did not demand
55:16reports, understanding that a talented
55:18director needs space for creativity. He
55:21began rehearsals for the next play in
55:23the fall: Gorky's*The Lower Depths*. A
55:25play that Lyubimov had never staged.
55:29Efros decided to portray the doss house
55:31as a model of Soviet society. People at
55:34the bottom of life: thieves,
55:36prostitutes, drunks. But everyone
55:38dreams of something better. Everyone
55:40believes that someday they will escape
55:42from this hell. And no one will escape,
55:45because the system gives no chance to
55:46those who have fallen. The premiere was
55:50in December 1984. The play was a
55:53tremendous success. Critics wrote:"
55:56Efros created a play about modernity
55:58using a turn-of-the-century script. "
56:01The audience saw the truth about Soviet
56:03society, hidden behind the facade of a
56:05bright future. But the situation in the
56:08theater remained unbearable. The
56:10veteran actors would not greet Efros.
56:12When he entered the canteen, they would
56:14stand up and leave. If they met him in
56:16the hallway, they would turn to face
56:18the wall. They created an atmosphere of
56:20complete isolation. They wanted to
56:22force him out of the theater with a
56:24silent boycott. In the spring of 1985,
56:27something happened that broke Efros for
56:30good. On March 10, 1985, Konstantin
56:35Chernenko died. Mikhail Gorbachev was
56:39elected General Secretary. The era of
56:41perestroika and glasnost had begun. One
56:45of the new government's first decisions
56:47was to permit the return of exiled
56:49cultural figures. Yuri Lyubimov was in
56:53exile in Paris. Learning of the change
56:55in power, he gave an interview to a
56:57French newspaper:" I want to return to
56:59the Soviet Union, take back my theater,
57:02and work in my homeland. "These words
57:04were reprinted by Soviet newspapers.
57:06Rumors spread through Moscow:" Lyubimov
57:08is coming back. Taganka will be his
57:11again. "The theater actors held a
57:13meeting and wrote a collective letter
57:15to the Party Central Committee,
57:17demanding Lyubimov's return and the
57:19restoration of justice. They asked to
57:21remove Efros, who had been appointed
57:23against the staff's will. The letter
57:25was signed by 37 out of fifty people,
57:28almost the entire troupe. Efros was
57:30called to this meeting and told:"
57:32Anatoly Vasilievich, sign the letter
57:35for Lyubimov's return. Prove that you
57:37are not an enemy of the theater. "Efros
57:39took the paper and read it. It was
57:41written there in black and white:" We
57:43request the return of Yuri Petrovich
57:45Lyubimov to the post of artistic
57:47director of the Taganka Theater. Remove
57:50the acting director, Efros. "Anatoly
57:54signed:" He understood that if he
57:55refused, he would be declared an enemy.
57:58They would say he was clinging to the
58:00position and preventing the return of
58:02the great director. "He signed it and
58:04left the room. He returned to his
58:06office and sat at his desk. His hands
58:08were shaking; he had signed his own
58:10sentence. Now Lyubimov would return, he
58:13would be fired, and he would have
58:15nowhere to go. But Lyubimov was in no
58:17hurry to return. In the summer of '85,
58:20he gave an interview to the American
58:21newspaper" Novoye Russkoye Slovo. "He
58:24said of Efros:" I want to work on the
58:27old stage, but I do not wish to see Mr.
58:29Efros or enter into any contact with
58:32him. He is a strike-breaker and a
58:34traitor who took my place by order of
58:37the authorities:' The theater must
58:39choose: either me or him. '"These words
58:41struck Efros painfully. Lyubimov, with
58:44whom he had worked together at GITIS,
58:46and whom he respected as a director,
58:48called him a strike-breaker and a
58:49traitor. He either does not understand
58:52or does not want to understand. Efros
58:53was appointed by order, not by his own
58:56will. It was impossible to refuse. That
58:59would have meant the end of his career.
59:00Efros continued to work in spite of
59:02everything. He staged" War's Unwomanly
59:05Face. "Based on the documentary novel
59:07by Svetlana Alexievich. The premiere
59:10was in March 1985. A play about women
59:14at war. About things not shown in
59:17official films. Blood, pain, fear,
59:21death. Women kill, women die, women
59:24lose everything human. The war breaks
59:28them forever. The play caused a shock.
59:31The audience wept openly. Such truth
59:33about the war had never been spoken
59:34from the stage before. Critics wrote:"
59:37Efros has created an anti-war play that
59:39everyone must see. "In the summer of
59:42'85, he staged" Lovely Sunday for Creve
59:45Coeur "by American playwright Tennessee
59:47Williams. A play about a woman who
59:50lives in memories of the past, cannot
59:52accept the present, and is slowly going
59:54mad from loneliness. Efros worked on
59:57this play with a special feeling; he
59:59recognized himself in the heroine, who
1:00:01also lives in the past, cannot accept
1:00:03the present, and is also slowly
1:00:05breaking under the weight of
1:00:06circumstances. In the autumn of '85, he
1:00:09staged" Fifteen Square Meters "based on
1:00:12the novel by Boris Mozhayev. A play
1:00:15about the Soviet peasantry robbed by
1:00:16collective farms, about people whose
1:00:18land, freedom, and right to their own
1:00:20lives were taken away, turning them
1:00:22into slaves working for" workday "
1:00:24tallies. The play was sharp and
1:00:27politically dangerous, but times were
1:00:29changing. Gorbachev had proclaimed
1:00:32glasnost. It became possible to say
1:00:33things that would have meant prison
1:00:35before. The premiere was in November of
1:00:37'85. The hall met the play with an
1:00:39ovation. Critics wrote:" Efros has
1:00:42shown the truth about the collective
1:00:44farm system that destroyed the Russian
1:00:46peasantry. "But in the theater, this
1:00:48did not change the attitude toward the
1:00:49director. The actors continued their
1:00:51boycott, demonstratively staying away
1:00:53from his plays. If they did attend,
1:00:55they left during the intermission. In
1:00:57the winter of eighty-five to eighty-six
1:01:00, things began that went beyond a
1:01:02simple boycott. Someone slashed Efros's
1:01:04sheepskin coat, which was hanging in
1:01:06the wardrobe. They mutilated the back
1:01:08and sleeves with thin cuts. Efros
1:01:10silently threw the coat away and bought
1:01:13a new one. A week later, all four tires
1:01:15were slashed on his car, which was
1:01:17parked by the theater. Efros called a
1:01:19taxi and went home. The next day, he
1:01:21took the car to a parking lot and never
1:01:24drove it to the theater again. The
1:01:26handles of his office door were smeared
1:01:28with something sticky and vile. Efros
1:01:30wiped them off in silence, washed his
1:01:31hands, and sat down to work. In the
1:01:33canteen, they refused to sell him food.
1:01:37They would say:" Everything is sold out
1:01:38, come back tomorrow. "Efros stopped
1:01:40going to the theater canteen and
1:01:42brought food from home. He endured all
1:01:45these humiliations in silence; he did
1:01:46not complain to the director or write
1:01:48to the ministry, understanding it would
1:01:50only make things worse. They would
1:01:52label him a whiner, a weakling who runs
1:01:54to the authorities for protection. He
1:01:56had to endure, work, and prove with his
1:01:58actions that he was worthy of this
1:02:00theater. In the spring of 1986, he
1:02:03began rehearsing Molière's" The
1:02:05Misanthrope. "It was the last play he
1:02:07would manage to direct. The play is
1:02:10about a man who hates lies and
1:02:12hypocrisy, lives among liars and
1:02:14scoundrels, tries to stay honest, but
1:02:16society pushes him out, declaring him
1:02:19an enemy, a crank, a dangerous madman.
1:02:22Efros rehearsed" The Misanthrope "as
1:02:24his own portrait. The protagonist
1:02:27Alceste is himself. A man who came into
1:02:29someone else's house and tries to work
1:02:31honestly, but everyone around hates him
1:02:34, wants to squeeze him out, destroy him
1:02:36, force him to leave. The premiere was
1:02:39in October 1986. The play was a huge
1:02:42success. The audience applauded for 20
1:02:45minutes. Critics wrote:" Efros has
1:02:47created his best play at Taganka. "Deep
1:02:51, honest, poignant. But Efros knew this
1:02:55was his last play; his strength was
1:02:56running out. His heart hurt every day.
1:02:59His left arm would go numb at night.
1:03:01His blood pressure was 180 over 120.
1:03:04Doctors said:" Quit your job, rest,
1:03:06otherwise a heart attack is inevitable.
1:03:09"But it was impossible to quit. To
1:03:11leave would mean admitting defeat. To
1:03:13agree that the actors had won, that
1:03:15Lyubimov was right to call him a
1:03:17traitor. In November of eighty-six, the
1:03:20theater toured Poland. They showed
1:03:22Efros's plays in Warsaw. After each
1:03:24performance, there were discussions.
1:03:26Polish critics sharply condemned Efros.
1:03:29They said:" You came to replace
1:03:31Lyubimov on the orders of the
1:03:32authorities. You are a strikebreaker;
1:03:35your plays are good, but you are not
1:03:37worthy of this theater. "Alla Demidova
1:03:39sat in the audience, listened to these
1:03:41accusations, did not stand up for Efros
1:03:43, and remained silent. With that
1:03:45silence, she confirmed the critics'
1:03:46words. After one of the discussions,
1:03:48Efros returned to the hotel, lay on the
1:03:51bed fully dressed, and lay there for 2
1:03:53hours, staring at the ceiling. His left
1:03:55arm had gone completely numb. There was
1:03:57a pressure in his chest so intense he
1:03:59couldn't breathe. He called a doctor.
1:04:01The Polish doctor examined him, gave
1:04:04him pills, and said seriously:" You are
1:04:06in a pre-infarction state; stop working
1:04:09immediately, or you will die. "Efros
1:04:12nodded silently. The doctor left.
1:04:16Anatoly stood up, walked to the window,
1:04:18looked out at night in Warsaw, and
1:04:21thought maybe it would be better to die
1:04:23here, in Poland, far from the theater
1:04:26that hated him. But no, he had to
1:04:29return, finish the season, put on one
1:04:32more play, and prove he hadn't given up
1:04:34. They returned to Moscow in December.
1:04:37A few days later, Efros went to the
1:04:39theater and climbed up to his office.
1:04:41There was a stack of letters on his
1:04:42desk; he opened the first one. A
1:04:44collective appeal from the Taganka
1:04:46actors to the Ministry of Culture." We
1:04:49demand the return of Yuri Petrovich
1:04:51Lyubimov, the removal of Anatoly
1:04:53Vasilyevich Efros, and that the theater
1:04:55be saved from destruction. "Signed by
1:04:5828 people, almost the entire old guard.
1:05:01Efros folded the letter back, put it on
1:05:04the desk, and sat in his chair, feeling
1:05:07his heart beating unevenly, missing
1:05:09beats. His vision blurred. He pulled
1:05:13validol from his desk drawer, put it
1:05:15under his tongue, and waited for it to
1:05:17pass. He knew this was the end.
1:05:19Everything would be over soon. Either
1:05:22Lyubimov would return and cast him out,
1:05:25or his heart would give out and stop.
1:05:28Either way, he was living out his last
1:05:31months at the Taganka. The year 1987
1:05:34began with a cold Moscow winter. Frosts
1:05:37near 30 ° C, snow up to his knees. The
1:05:40wind cut at his face. Efros woke up at
1:05:426:00 AM in his apartment on Selevyortov
1:05:45Lane. Company housing provided by the
1:05:47ministry along with his position. Three
1:05:50rooms on the fifth floor of an old
1:05:51building. His wife, Natalia Krymova,
1:05:53was sleeping in the next room. His son,
1:05:56Dmitry, had long been living on his own
1:05:57, having started his own family.
1:05:59Anatoly got up quietly so as not to
1:06:01wake his wife. He went to the kitchen,
1:06:03brewed strong tea, sat by the window,
1:06:05and watched the snow-covered courtyard
1:06:07where the janitor was sweeping snow
1:06:09with a wooden shovel. He thought about
1:06:11the theater, about his plays, about
1:06:13what would come next. His heart hurt
1:06:15every morning. A dull, aching pain
1:06:17under his left shoulder blade. The
1:06:19doctor had said in December:" You have
1:06:21angina; ischemic disease is beginning.
1:06:24You need rest, calm, no stress,
1:06:25otherwise a heart attack could happen
1:06:27at any moment. "But what peace is there
1:06:30in a theater where you are hated, where
1:06:32every day brings new humiliation? Efros
1:06:35knew he had to leave. Write a
1:06:38resignation letter, leave of his own
1:06:40accord, and save what was left of his
1:06:42dignity. But leave to where? At 59, he
1:06:45had been kicked out of Malaya Bronnaya.
1:06:47He couldn't go back to Lenkom. The
1:06:49Central Children's Theater had become a
1:06:51different place. There was nowhere to
1:06:53go. Only the Taganka remained, and it
1:06:56was slowly killing him. On January 8,
1:06:591987, he arrived at the theater at
1:07:0210:00 AM. A new poster hung in the
1:07:04foyer, the repertoire for January.
1:07:06Efros’s plays were not listed. Only
1:07:09the old productions by Lyubimov, which
1:07:11the theater continued to perform." Ten
1:07:14Days That Shook the World, "" Hamlet "
1:07:16with Vysotsky," The Dawns Here Are
1:07:18Quiet. "Efros's plays were pulled from
1:07:21the playbill quietly, without
1:07:22announcements. Anatoly went up to the
1:07:24director's office. Boris Nikolaevich
1:07:26Khmelnitsky sat at his desk, looking at
1:07:29some papers. Efros asked," Why are my
1:07:31plays not on the playbill? "Khmelnitsky
1:07:33answered without raising his eyes. The
1:07:35actors are refusing to perform. They
1:07:38say," We will not participate in the
1:07:39plays of a traitor. "We had to pull
1:07:41them; otherwise, the audience would buy
1:07:44tickets, come, and find no show. It
1:07:46would be a scandal. Efros stood in
1:07:48silence, understanding this was the end
1:07:50. If the actors refuse to perform his
1:07:53plays, he is no longer the artistic
1:07:55director. He is a nobody. A ghost
1:07:58occupying someone else's chair. Boris
1:08:01Nikolaevich asked quietly." What should
1:08:05I do? "Khmelnitsky finally raised his
1:08:08eyes, looked at Efros with something
1:08:11akin to sympathy, and said," Anatoly
1:08:13Vasilyevich, leave while it's not too
1:08:16late. Lyubimov will return. "It is a
1:08:19matter of months. Gorbachev will allow
1:08:23all immigrants to return. You will be
1:08:25kicked out in disgrace. Leave on your
1:08:28own. Save face. Efros nodded, left the
1:08:31office, went down to his own office on
1:08:34the second floor, sat at the desk, took
1:08:36out a blank sheet of paper, and wrote a
1:08:39resignation letter." I request to be
1:08:42relieved of the position of artistic
1:08:44director of the Taganka Theater at my
1:08:47own request. "He signed it and added
1:08:49the date. January 8, 1987. He stared at
1:08:55that piece of paper for an hour. All it
1:08:58would take was to go up to the director
1:09:00, hand in the resignation, and it would
1:09:02all be over. To be free from this
1:09:04nightmare, from the actors 'hatred,
1:09:06from the humiliations, from the daily
1:09:08pain in his heart. But what next? Sit
1:09:12at home, stare out the window, wait for
1:09:15death? No, one must work to the end, as
1:09:19long as the heart beats. He tore up the
1:09:21resignation, threw it in the bin, and
1:09:24decided:" I will not leave. Let them
1:09:26fire me officially, let them write the
1:09:29order, but I won't quit myself. I will
1:09:32hold on until the very end. "On January
1:09:3610, Olga Yakovleva called. Her voice
1:09:38was anxious." Tolya, how are you? "" I
1:09:41heard things are really bad at the
1:09:42theater. "" Maybe you could return to
1:09:44Malaya Bronnaya? "" I will talk to
1:09:46Dunaev. "" He will take you back. "
1:09:48Efros answered wearily." Olya, thank
1:09:51you, but I cannot. "" If I leave
1:09:53Taganka, they will say I was a coward,
1:09:55that I ran away, that I couldn't handle
1:09:57the struggle. "" No, I will stay and
1:09:59see it through to the end. "Yakovleva
1:10:01was silent for a few seconds, then said
1:10:04quietly:" Tolya, you are killing
1:10:06yourself. Leave this theater, it will
1:10:08devour you. "Efros chuckled." It
1:10:11already has, Olya. "" All that's left
1:10:13is for it to digest me. "On January 11,
1:10:15he arrived at the theater in the
1:10:17morning and went up to his office. On
1:10:19his desk lay a telegram from Paris from
1:10:21Yuri Lyubimov. The text was brief."
1:10:24Efros, get out of my theater. "" You
1:10:26are a temporary worker and a traitor
1:10:28there. "" I will return in the spring
1:10:30and kick you out in disgrace. ""
1:10:32Lyubimov. "Anatoly read the telegram,
1:10:34and tears flowed down his cheeks. Not
1:10:36from hurt, but from exhaustion, from
1:10:38the realization that everything was in
1:10:40vain. Two and a half years of work at
1:10:43Taganka, six staged productions,
1:10:45hundreds of hours of rehearsals,
1:10:47thousands of efforts spent fighting the
1:10:49actors' hatred. And all this will end
1:10:54with Lyubimov returning and driving him
1:10:56out like a traitor, and everyone will
1:10:59applaud, happy that justice has
1:11:01prevailed. He wiped his tears with his
1:11:04jacket sleeve, put the telegram in the
1:11:06desk drawer, took pills from his pocket
1:11:08, nitroglycerin, under his tongue,
1:11:10waiting for the chest pain to subside.
1:11:13He thought, maybe that's enough, maybe
1:11:15it's time to stop, but no. A few more
1:11:19months. Finish the season, stage the
1:11:21last play, at least one, to prove to
1:11:24himself that he hasn't given up.
1:11:26January 12th, Sunday, a day off. Efros
1:11:30woke up at 8:00 AM. His heart was
1:11:32beating evenly, there was no pain. A
1:11:34good sign. Maybe everything will work
1:11:36out. He had breakfast, read the
1:11:38newspapers. In Pravda, there's an
1:11:40article about Perestroika and Glasnost.
1:11:42Gorbachev promises freedom of speech,
1:11:44democracy, the return of emigrants.
1:11:47That means Lyubimov will definitely be
1:11:49back soon. He decided not to think
1:11:51about it. Spend the day quietly with
1:11:53his wife, with books. Natalia Krymova
1:11:56was cooking lunch in the kitchen. Efros
1:11:58sat in an armchair, reading
1:11:59Shakespeare’s play*Coriolanus*. He
1:12:02wanted to stage it in the spring—a
1:12:04Roman commander cast out by an
1:12:06ungrateful people, the very people he
1:12:08had protected his entire life. The
1:12:12perfect play for his situation. He read
1:12:15and imagined the stage direction, how
1:12:17the actors would move, what the
1:12:19mise-en-scène would be, what music.
1:12:22The theater lived in his head
1:12:24constantly, even on his day off, even
1:12:26at home, even when his heart aches and
1:12:28doctors say to rest. In the evening,
1:12:31his son Dmitry called and asked," Dad,
1:12:34how are you? How are you feeling? "I
1:12:36heard things are really difficult at
1:12:38Taganka. Efros replied calmly:" I'm
1:12:40fine, Dim, I'm working, staging plays.
1:12:43Don't worry about me. "Dmitry was
1:12:46silent, then said:" Dad, maybe enough
1:12:48is enough? Quit this theater, take care
1:12:51of your health, go to a sanatorium, get
1:12:53some rest. "Efros chuckled. Dim, I am a
1:12:56director. Directors don't rest. They
1:12:59work until the end. January 13th,
1:13:02Monday. Efros woke up at 7:00 AM. His
1:13:05heart was pounding heavily, unevenly.
1:13:07His left arm felt numb. He got out of
1:13:10bed, went to the bathroom, washed with
1:13:12cold water, looked in the mirror. His
1:13:14face was gray, dark circles under his
1:13:16eyes, deep wrinkles. He looked 70 years
1:13:19old, though he was 59. He got dressed
1:13:22slowly. Every movement was a struggle.
1:13:25Natalia came out of the bedroom,
1:13:27looking at him with anxiety. Tolya, you
1:13:30look terrible. Maybe you should stay
1:13:33home? Let's call a doctor. Efros shook
1:13:36his head. No, Natasha, there is a
1:13:38rehearsal for*Coriolanus*today. I have
1:13:40to be at the theater. Natalia took him
1:13:42by the hand. Tolya, I’m afraid. You
1:13:45have such a look on your face, as if
1:13:47you’re saying goodbye. Efros hugged
1:13:50her. Don't imagine things. Everything
1:13:52is fine. I'll be back in the evening,
1:13:53we'll have dinner together. He left the
1:13:55house at 8:00 a.m. The frost was
1:13:57deepening, a north wind blowing, snow
1:14:00lashing his face. Efros walked to the
1:14:02metro slowly. His left arm ached, his
1:14:05chest felt tight. He stopped by an
1:14:07entrance, leaned against the wall,
1:14:09waiting for it to pass. Passersby
1:14:11walked on, paying no attention. A
1:14:14common sight. An old man by a wall on a
1:14:16winter morning. After 5 minutes, it let
1:14:18up. He reached the metro, went down,
1:14:21and took the train to Taganskaya. He
1:14:23stepped out and walked to the theater.
1:14:25A rehearsal was scheduled for 10 a.m.
1:14:27The theater was a 5-minute walk away.
1:14:29He reached the theater doors, climbed
1:14:31the steps, and entered the foyer. Empty
1:14:34, quiet. He went up to his office on
1:14:37the second floor, sat at his desk, and
1:14:39took pills from his pocket:
1:14:40nitroglycerin under the tongue, validol
1:14:42just in case. He waited for relief, but
1:14:46it didn't come. The pain grew worse.
1:14:49His left arm went completely numb. His
1:14:52chest tightened so much he couldn't
1:14:54breathe. Efros realized: this was it. A
1:14:57heart attack. Either he would make it
1:15:01to an ambulance or he would die here,
1:15:03in his office at his desk; he tried to
1:15:05stand, to call the director or a doctor
1:15:08, but his legs gave way and he slumped
1:15:10back into the chair. The pain was
1:15:13unbearable. The left side of his body
1:15:15went numb, his vision darkened. The
1:15:17last thing he thought about was the
1:15:1910:00 a.m. rehearsal of Coriolanus. I
1:15:21need to warn the actors that I won't be
1:15:23able to come. He reached for the phone,
1:15:26but couldn't reach it. His hand fell
1:15:28onto the desk. His heart stopped on the
1:15:31morning of January 13, 1987. Anatoly
1:15:35Vasilyevich Efros died alone in his
1:15:37office at the Taganka Theater. The very
1:15:41theater that hated him and had been
1:15:42hounding him for the last two and a
1:15:44half years. They found him in the
1:15:46morning. The director went up to the
1:15:48office and knocked." Anatoly
1:15:50Vasilyevich, the rehearsal has begun. "
1:15:52" They are waiting for you. "Silence.
1:15:54He opened the door. Efros was sitting
1:15:56in his chair. His head was thrown back,
1:15:58his eyes closed. The director
1:16:00approached and touched his hand. It was
1:16:02cold; he realized he was dead. They
1:16:04called an ambulance. It arrived 15
1:16:06minutes later. The doctor examined him
1:16:08and declared him dead. A massive
1:16:10myocardial infarction. Death had been
1:16:13instantaneous. He didn't suffer.
1:16:17Natalia Krymova was called to the
1:16:18theater at twelve. She went up to the
1:16:21office. Efros had already been covered
1:16:23with a sheet. Natalia sat down beside
1:16:26him, took his cold hand, sat in silence
1:16:29, and then said softly," Tolya, why? ""
1:16:32Why didn't you leave? "" I told you
1:16:34this theater would kill you. "The
1:16:36funeral took place a few days later.
1:16:38The service was held at the Actor's
1:16:40House on Tverskaya Street. The coffin
1:16:42stood in the center of the hall.
1:16:43Surrounded by flowers, wreaths, and
1:16:45portraits. Hundreds of people came:
1:16:47actors from Malaya Bronnaya, the
1:16:49Central Children's Theater, Lenkom,
1:16:51directors, critics, and students from
1:16:54GITIS. Those who loved Efros, who
1:16:56worked with him, who understood his
1:16:58theater. The Taganka actors stood
1:17:01off-stage; they didn't come out into
1:17:02the hall, ashamed to look into the eyes
1:17:04of those who had come to say goodbye to
1:17:06Efros. They knew their hounding had
1:17:08killed him. For two and a half years,
1:17:11they slowly killed him with boycotts,
1:17:13humiliations, and hatred, driving him
1:17:16to a heart attack and death. Alla
1:17:18Demidova stood backstage, crying, and
1:17:21said through her tears:" We killed him.
1:17:24We are all to blame. We should have
1:17:26stopped and realized that the man was
1:17:28not at fault. He was appointed; he
1:17:31could not refuse. But we hounded him
1:17:33like an enemy. We killed a great
1:17:36director. "He was buried at the
1:17:39Kuntsevo cemetery. It was -28 degrees,
1:17:42with snow and wind. About 50 people
1:17:45stood by the grave: family, friends,
1:17:47and actors. No one from the Taganka
1:17:50came. They said they were busy.
1:17:52Rehearsals, performances—in reality,
1:17:54they were ashamed. The coffin was
1:17:56lowered into the ground, covered, and a
1:17:58temporary cross was placed. Natalya
1:17:59Krymova stood by the grave, looking at
1:18:02the fresh earth. She thought that Tolya
1:18:05had lived 61 years, created dozens of
1:18:07great productions, raised a generation
1:18:10of actors, and changed Soviet theater,
1:18:12yet died a traitor and an outcast,
1:18:15hated by those he tried to work with.
1:18:18Two years later, Yuri Lyubimov returned
1:18:20to the USSR. He was reinstated as the
1:18:23artistic director of the Taganka
1:18:25Theater. The actors met him with an
1:18:28ovation, flowers, and tears of joy.
1:18:31They said:" Finally, justice has
1:18:33prevailed. The theater has returned to
1:18:36its creator. "Efros's name was never
1:18:38mentioned at the Taganka. His
1:18:40productions were removed from the
1:18:42repertoire, posters were destroyed,
1:18:43photos were taken down, and they
1:18:45pretended he never existed. As if those
1:18:49two and a half years, from 1984 to 1987
1:18:53, had never happened. But theatrical
1:18:56Moscow remembered, and critics wrote:"
1:18:58Efros was a great director who was
1:19:00broken by the system. Not the Soviet
1:19:03regime, not the censorship, but the
1:19:05actors of his own theater. Those who
1:19:07should have protected him killed him
1:19:10slowly, cruelly, and mercilessly. "
1:19:12Natalya Krymova visited the grave every
1:19:15week, bringing flowers. She cleared the
1:19:17snow in winter and the weeds in summer.
1:19:20She stood in silence, thinking about
1:19:21how everything could have been
1:19:23different if Tolya had found the
1:19:24strength to refuse. But a director
1:19:27cannot refuse the theater. In the
1:19:29spring of 1987 Olga Yakovleva gave an
1:19:33interview to the newspaper*Soviet
1:19:34Culture*, stating honestly:" We killed
1:19:37a great director. The Taganka actors
1:19:39drove him to a heart attack with their
1:19:41persecution. "Two and a half years of
1:19:43slow destruction. The interview caused
1:19:46a scandal. The Taganka actors were
1:19:48outraged:" How can you say such things?
1:19:50We were fighting for our favorite
1:19:51director. Efros is to blame himself. "
1:19:53But Yakovleva did not back down. She
1:19:55said:" Efros is not to blame. He was
1:19:57appointed by the ministry. Refusing
1:19:59meant the end of his career, yet they
1:20:02destroyed him methodically and cruelly.
1:20:04This was not a fight for their favorite
1:20:06; this was hounding him to death. "
1:20:09Leonid Filatov, who left the Taganka in
1:20:11protest against Efros, was tormented by
1:20:14a guilty conscience for the rest of his
1:20:16life. He told friends:" We acted vilely
1:20:20. Efros was a great director. We should
1:20:23have given him a chance to work with us
1:20:25, to understand his theater. But we
1:20:27declared war from day one. We killed a
1:20:30talented man. "" It is a sin that
1:20:32cannot be atoned for. "Theatrical
1:20:34Moscow was split in two. Some said
1:20:37Efros was a hero who tried to save
1:20:39Taganka. Others:" Efros is a traitor,
1:20:41he came to take someone else's place. "
1:20:44The disputes went on for years and
1:20:45haven't faded even now. But in 2006,
1:20:48eight years before his own death,
1:20:50Lyubimov gave an interview to a Russian
1:20:52newspaper and spoke briefly about Efros
1:20:54:" We had different views on life. He
1:20:58believed his microcosm would save him
1:21:00from everything bad, but a microcosm
1:21:02does not save. "Greater history always
1:21:06wins. Efros realized this too late.
1:21:09Those words sounded like an epitaph.
1:21:12Greater history did indeed defeat Efros
1:21:15. The system, which he could not fight
1:21:17against. The ministry, which appointed
1:21:20him against the will of the actors. The
1:21:22actors, who never forgave him for that
1:21:25appointment. Everything together closed
1:21:28into a deadly ring. His son, Dmitry
1:21:31Krymov, became a theater designer and
1:21:34director. He created his own studio,
1:21:37staged experimental plays, and said:" I
1:21:40am continuing my father's work, his
1:21:42honesty, his truth on stage. I will not
1:21:46make compromises, I will not please the
1:21:48system, I will stage what I believe in,
1:21:51even if it kills me, just as it killed
1:21:53my father. "In 1993, Natalia Krymova
1:21:57published a book of memoirs about Efros
1:22:00, titled" Names on the Poster, "telling
1:22:03the truth about his life, the theater,
1:22:06and Taganka. She described his final
1:22:10years: how her husband came home gray
1:22:13and silent, how he clutched his heart
1:22:15at night, how he took handfuls of pills
1:22:18, and how he told her:" Natasha, I
1:22:21cannot leave. That would be a betrayal
1:22:24of myself. I am a director, I must work
1:22:26until the end. "The book had a small
1:22:29print run. 5,000 copies. They sold out
1:22:32in a month. Critics wrote:" This is a
1:22:35terrifying document about how the
1:22:37system destroys talent. "Not crudely,
1:22:40not openly, but slowly, methodically,
1:22:43through exhaustion and bullying. In
1:22:452003, Natalia Krymova died. She was
1:22:50buried next to Efros at the Kuntsevo
1:22:52Cemetery. Now, two crosses stand side
1:22:55by side. Two people who lived together
1:22:57for 37 years. He created theater. She
1:23:01wrote about theater. Together, they
1:23:03were part of a great era of Soviet art.
1:23:06The grave was improved. Instead of a
1:23:08wooden cross, they placed a strict,
1:23:10concise monument. Black granite, golden
1:23:13letters. Anatoly Vasilyevich Efros,
1:23:16director, 1925-1987. Beside him,
1:23:21Natalia Anatolyevna Krymova, theater
1:23:24critic. 1930-2003. Efros's plays have
1:23:29left the repertoires. The actors who
1:23:31worked with him have grown old and died
1:23:34. The theaters have changed management,
1:23:36style, and aesthetics. Efros's time is
1:23:38over, but the memory remains. And this
1:23:40memory lives on. At GITIS, there is a
1:23:43lecture hall named after Efros.
1:23:45Students study his methods, read his
1:23:47books" Rehearsal, My Love "and" The
1:23:49Profession of Director, "learn about
1:23:51the continuation of a theatrical story,
1:23:53and learn honesty on stage, the truth
1:23:54of character, and psychological theater
1:23:56. Actors who worked with Efros say:" He
1:24:00taught us the most important thing: not
1:24:02to act, but to live. "Not to portray
1:24:06emotions, but to feel them for real."
1:24:08Efros's theater is a theater of truth.
1:24:11No falsehood, no overacting, only
1:24:14honesty down to the last drop of blood.
1:24:17Some of Efros's plays have been
1:24:19preserved in television recordings:
1:24:21Molière, Pechorin’s Journal with
1:24:24Oleg Dal, A Month in the Country, and
1:24:26War's Unwomanly Face. These recordings
1:24:29are shown at festivals, in film clubs,
1:24:31and in theater institutes. A new
1:24:33generation of directors watches and
1:24:35learns. In 2025, for the centenary of
1:24:38Efros's birth, a major retrospective of
1:24:41his work was held. They showed video
1:24:43recordings of his plays, a photo
1:24:45exhibition, and meetings with actors
1:24:47who had worked with him. Olga Yakovleva
1:24:49, now very old and ill, came to this
1:24:52meeting and spoke to young directors.
1:24:55Efros was a genius. He changed Soviet
1:24:58theater, showing that the stage could
1:24:59be truthful, honest, and profound. It
1:25:02is not necessary to lie, to appease the
1:25:04authorities, or to play by clichés. It
1:25:06is possible to create real art even in
1:25:09the USSR. The story of Efros at the
1:25:12Taganka became a symbol, a symbol of
1:25:14how talent perishes not from censorship
1:25:16, but from one's own people. It was not
1:25:18the authorities who killed Efros, not
1:25:21the KGB, nor the Ministry of Culture.
1:25:24He was killed by actors, those who were
1:25:26supposed to perform in his plays, to
1:25:28defend him, to support him. Instead,
1:25:31they branded him an enemy. They hounded
1:25:33him for two years, driving him to a
1:25:35heart attack. This story repeats itself
1:25:37again and again in different theaters,
1:25:39different countries, and different eras
1:25:41. A new director arrives. The troupe
1:25:43refuses to accept them. A war begins.
1:25:46The one with the stronger nerves wins.
1:25:48Efros's nerves did not hold out. His
1:25:51heart stopped, but his theater remained
1:25:54in the memory of those who saw his
1:25:56plays and in the methods taught in
1:25:58institutes. In the principles of
1:26:00honesty and truth that Efros championed
1:26:03his entire life. Anatoly Vasilievich
1:26:06Efros lived for 61 years, directed over
1:26:0870 plays, and raised a generation of
1:26:11great actors: Yefremov, Tabakov, Durov,
1:26:13Yakovleva, Gaft, and Sbruev. He died at
1:26:17the height of his talent. History
1:26:19remembers Efros as a great director and
1:26:21a tragic figure. A man who spent his
1:26:24life fighting for truth on stage,
1:26:26refused to compromise with authorities,
1:26:28censorship, or opportunism, and paid
1:26:30for it with banned plays, dismissal
1:26:32from his posts, persecution, and
1:26:34ultimately with his life. His grave at
1:26:38the Kuntsevo Cemetery is not the end of
1:26:39the story; it is the beginning of
1:26:41memory. Efros lives on in every play
1:26:44where actors perform with honesty. In
1:26:46every director who seeks truth on stage
1:26:48. In every spectator who cries in the
1:26:51theater upon recognizing themselves in
1:26:52the characters. Efros's theater is a
1:26:55theater of the human heart, of pain,
1:26:58love, loneliness, and hope—of what is
1:27:00hidden behind facades of propriety, and
1:27:03what is kept from prying eyes. Efros
1:27:06knew how to find this and show it on
1:27:08stage without falsehood, without
1:27:10embellishment, just as it is. For this,
1:27:12the audience loved him, and the system
1:27:14hated him. For this, they banned his
1:27:16plays and persecuted him at Taganka.
1:27:18For this, they killed him at 59, before
1:27:21he could create all he could. But the
1:27:24memory remains, and as long as people
1:27:26remember Efros, his theater lives. It
1:27:29lives in books, video recordings,
1:27:31actors 'memories, and GITIS methods. It
1:27:33lives in the principle that Efros
1:27:36upheld his entire life. Truth on stage
1:27:38is most important, even more than one's
1:27:41own life. Every year on January 13th,
1:27:44people come to Efros’s grave, bring
1:27:47flowers, and stand in silence:
1:27:49directors, actors, and theater students
1:27:51. Those who remember, those who know
1:27:54the price of talent and honesty.
1:27:56Anatoly Vasilyevich Efros died in
1:28:00January 1987. But his theater is
1:28:03immortal, because truth is immortal,
1:28:06because honesty does not die, because
1:28:08the memory of great people lives longer
1:28:10than their physical bodies. Efros
1:28:13created a theater that changed the era.
1:28:16A theater that showed it was possible
1:28:19to be honest even in the USSR. It is
1:28:22possible not to lie to the audience
1:28:23even under the pressure of censorship.
1:28:26It is possible to create real art even
1:28:27when you are hated and destroyed. For
1:28:31this he is remembered, for this he is
1:28:33loved, for this he is studied in
1:28:34institutes and held up as an example to
1:28:36young directors. Anatoly Vasilyevich
1:28:39Efros was a great Soviet director, a
1:28:41man who gave his life to the theater,
1:28:44and the theater killed him. If you
1:28:46watched this story to the end, please
1:28:48write in the comments which city or
1:28:51region you are from. It is interesting
1:28:53to know how many of you stay with us
1:28:54until the finale. Thank you and have a
1:28:57good day.

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