Chief director of the Taganka Theater after Lyubov. The history of the division of the Taganka theater

Actress Irina Apeksimova became the director of the Moscow Taganka Theater. Sergey Kapkov, head of the Moscow Department of Culture, announced a new appointment at the theatre. Soon he himself will introduce Mrs. Apeksimova to the Taganka Theater team.

“Apeksimova was appointed director of the Taganka Theater by my order,” Sergey Kapkov, head of the Moscow Department of Culture, told Interfax.

Problems with the management of the theater began back in 2011, when, as a result of a conflict with the actors, Yuri Lyubimov, the founder of the Moscow Taganka Drama and Comedy Theater, left the troupe with a resonant scandal. The vacant post was taken by People's Artist of Russia and one of the leading actors of the theater Valery Zolotukhin, who was neither the initiator nor a direct participant in the conflict. In 2013, for health reasons, he left the theater and soon died after a serious illness. Mr. Lyubimov himself was actually in the status of an exile, his performances gradually disappeared from the repertoire of his native theater.

Soon the department of culture appointed Vladimir Fleischer, who had worked for many years as the director of the Moscow Meyerhold Center, to the leading position. Experts noted that this decision was more technical than creative: Mr. Fleischer was never able to develop a coherent repertoire policy. As a result, the Moscow Department of Culture made a strong-willed decision on a new personnel appointment. Instead of Mr. Fleischer, the post of theater director will be taken by actress and producer Irina Apeksimova.

The key question at the moment is who will determine the artistic tasks of the theater, which is today in a difficult situation. If Mrs. Apeksimova was transferred by the Department of Culture to the Taganka Theater as a successful manager to solve administrative problems, then she needs an artistic director in a couple. However, if she is appointed to single-handedly determine the repertoire, then this decision seems rather extravagant, since the actress does not have experience in independent leading artistic activities, she was not noticed in major artistic actions.

Irina Apeksimova, who has successfully worked for ten years at the Chekhov Moscow Art Theater and has played more than 60 roles in theater and cinema, is currently the head of the Roman Viktyuk Theater. In a statement to TASS, the artist noted that she "plans to combine these two positions." Roman Viktyuk invited the famous actress to an administrative, in fact, position in 2012. Then she was given the task, together with the artistic director, to prepare the theater troupe to work under the conditions of regular shows in her own building. The building of the House of Culture named after Rusakov, in which the Roman Viktyuk Theater was based, had been waiting for reconstruction for a long time, which is why the artists had to perform at various other Moscow venues. So the actress Apeksimova repeatedly played in the performances of Roman Viktyuk, such as Our Decameron and Carmen. As you know, during the time of cooperation in the reconstruction field, relations between the artist and the director completely ceased to develop. One way or another, the Viktyuk Theater will be under repair until the end of March.

Today the capital (and Russia as a whole), in the opinion of most experts in theatrical craft, is faced with the problem of a shortage of strong, talented leaders. So, director of the theater "Lenkom" Mark Varshaver noted that he was ready to work "from morning to night", but only "for a genius." However, today there are no such leaders, he believes. "This is the misfortune that exists in Moscow. If there is no creativity, this is not a theater. There are walls, repairs, material "victory" that many theaters do not have. The main thing is where to get directors. Where to get a creator? Warsawer commented.

In Moscow alone, specialized universities graduate 60-80 administrative specialists annually. However, it is extremely difficult for theaters to find an intelligent employee in this "line", the "administrative" head of Lenkom noted.

The "happy" directors of Moscow theaters, whom they consider themselves to be, repeat in their voices that a tandem of artistic director and director is necessary for prosperity. Where this is not the case, the "director's theater" model is being implemented.

This practice has recently been widely used by the Ministry of Culture and city cultural departments. However, not everyone supports the concept that there is no artistic director. Especially if the role of the "two-headed eagle" in the management of the theater is played by a person "outside the system", the so-called result of the "appointment leapfrog" initiated by the cultural authorities.

The "consequence" of this, to put it mildly, risky policy was the appointment of an actress Irina Apeksimova in March 2015, to the post of director of the Taganka Theater - a place where the "Varangians" who promised "big changes" were not very fond of before. The new head of "Taganka" - personnel decision ex-head of the department of culture of the capital Sergey Kapkov taken "at the end" of his career. Crisis manager Apeksimova, as expected, should complete the renovation of the premises of the historical building of the theater, as well as harmonize the creative process in the team.

The arrival of Apeksimova in the theater was taken extremely sharply by the troupe artists Her first actions to dismiss a number of employees from the administration and accounting departments, of course, were not met with "applause". The actors are outraged by the "new" course of continuing the "old" restoration of the theater instead of the approved repertoire plan and the preservation of their native stage, the "know-how" of the space invented by the masters. The "titans" of art announced a picket on April 23, and, if necessary, its continuation in the form of a hunger strike. In addition, the artists of "Taganka" made an appeal to the organization for the protection of human rights and intend to complain to the prosecutor's office.

Director of the Moscow Bureau for Human Rights, member of the HRC under the President of the Russian Federation Alexander Brod confirmed that he had received a call from the Russian Trade Union of Cultural Workers. It says in particular:

"The situation in the theater is catastrophic. Repairs started in violation of the state contract, the schedules are all violated. According to experts, there is no emergency condition in the theater. However, false documents are being issued about the accident rate. Probably to justify the unreasonable spending of funds for repairs from the Moscow budget."

The "signers" also claim that the brilliant legacy of director Yuri Lyubimov (died on October 5, 2014 at the age of 97) is "thrown into the trash", and the absence of an artistic director and a clear artistic policy "destroys" the theater.

For clarity: since the summer of 2014, the Taganka Theater has not been fully functional: old performances are not played, new ones are not staged.

"To our entreaties and requests to give us an artistic [director] to preserve the legendary repertoire of Lyubimov, as well as 11 performances that were staged under Zolotukhin, the troupe and creative workshops, we received only deathly silence, or a reply that this issue was not being considered. There are the certainty that, by recommending spending money on the restoration of the theater due to an imaginary accident rate, they want to kill the troupe of one of the most iconic theaters in the world",- emphasized theater actress Tatyana Sidorenko.

The artists take a consolidated position, believing that the statement about the accident rate of the building is "outright slyness." According to their data, in 2012-2014. a study of the foundation was carried out, which was found to be satisfactory, with the exception of certain areas.

"Who needs to spend hundreds of millions of our taxpayers' money? It is not clear on what grounds they want to change the previously approved reconstruction project. This will lead to the fact that the theater will stop for 3-4 years, and as a result - to its destruction",- added Sidorenko.

The price of the state contract for the repair of the building is 157 million 610 thousand rubles. During the dismantling of the structure, the contractor revealed that a number of sections of the theater building were in disrepair. However, they were not reflected in the design estimates, said Deputy Head of the Moscow Department of Culture Dmitry Ipatov. In this regard, it is necessary to conduct an additional survey in order to stop the repair or make adjustments to the reconstruction project. According to him, the experts of the Department of Cultural Heritage conducted a visual inspection of the state of the object and drew up an act, which indicated the following conclusions: for a detailed study, it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive instrumental examination of the structure and soil. Thus, the state contract has been suspended, which excludes the presence of "employed" under the roof of the Taganka theater, Ipatov specified.

Apeksimova said that at the time of her arrival - March 6, 2015 - the state task for the first quarter of 2015 had not been fulfilled. "Further repertoire was not planned, venues were not rented. Until the end of this season (April-May) it is not possible to rent other premises, because it is quite late to do it, the repertoire is made up everywhere. I, just like you, get acquainted with the information, why the renovation was suspended. I ask the Department of Culture how we will continue to exist",- the new head of the theater commented on the situation.

Actor Ivan Ryzhikov, in turn, notes that if we consider this case as "some kind of business project", then there are "signs of a raider takeover."

“Over the past two years, budgetary funds have been irrationally spent, the state task has been reduced, the efficiency of performance indicators has fallen sharply. Artists do not receive allowances. There is a clear lobbying for the expansion of the scope of repair work that our theater "so needs"", he complains. When appointing a director, no one consulted with the troupe, decisions were made "behind the scenes". “Today, almost all the senior management has been fired - the accounting department and the economic department, highly qualified people who worked under Lyubimov and Zolotukhin. positions were taken by new employees whose qualifications remain in doubt, Ryzhikov says.

In its history, "Taganka" experienced 4-5 overhauls, but labor activity never stopped. Here, the new leadership "in order to avoid the effect of a house of cards" banned any rehearsals and creative contacts in the theater, the artist emphasized. The theater in the person of Apeksimova does not have a development plan, he added.

According to Ryzhikov, the artists have no choice but to "slander". “We are often accused of writing letters. We are artists, we want to play, not write letters, but they leave us no hope. We write to Sobyanin. All this stops at the level of Mr. Pechatnikov, who answers me that the troupe safely plays on all other venues in Moscow", - says the artist. "Well-being" is measured by 4-5 performances per month.

Professor at Moscow State University Lomonosov, political scientist Sergei Chernyakhovsky I am sure: we must try to save the theater, because in the end, in the dispute between the actor and the administrator, the actor always remains right. "It is not normal when the director of the theater is appointed in addition to agreeing with the team. It is sad if the director cannot find a common language with the actors. There is a theatrical principle of leadership in politics. There is a chief director, a prima and a director. All disasters come from the fact that one wants to unite everything. The fact that this has become possible in the theatrical sphere is doubtful by the very nature of this sphere. Economic and administrative decisions must depend on artistic ones, " he commented.

The "legs" of the conflict, according to the expert, "grow" from the Department of Culture of Moscow, which created another conflict in the theatrical environment . "There is a difference between a construction site and a theater. The department talks about conclusions, contract numbers, but not a word about the creative process and actors," - Chernyakhovsky said. The department allegedly acts according to the usual "corruption scheme": it concludes a contract, starts working, then asks for additional funding. In this case, it is quite reasonable, in his opinion, to talk about a special investigation and appeal to the prosecutor's office.

Artistic Director of the Theater at the Nikitsky Gates Mark Rozovsky invited the actors to spend less energy, nerves and time on "paperwork" and focus on preserving and developing the creative tradition of the legendary theater - the theater of "live, poetic, metaphorical". "The theater is movement, if it is not there, dead things will come,"- he said. The director wished the artists to "revive" the artistic creed, which will allow them to create a precedent, to attract public attention through creative expression, even performing "on the rocks" . "We need to engage in creativity, start making stunning theater projects as soon as possible. Then you will come to life and begin to believe this person. Anyone who is passionate, who will lead, will give impetus to the development of the Taganka Theater. No repair can interfere with creativity," - he said.

"Tagantsy" do not support this idea, relying on their rights guaranteed by the terms of the collective agreement. Artists do not want to see "a beautiful, promoted actress, a charming girl" with a new economic policy "in their pocket", they demand a creative leader from the city authorities.

These same artists, by the way, themselves became the catalyst for the current state of Taganka. Previously, they actively advocated for Yuri Petrovich Lyubimov to leave his home, recalled Head of the State Academic Theatre. E. Vakhtangov Kirill Krokk. Today they are speculating on the director's name. "That shouldn't be discounted either," he noted. The founder does not have to agree with the staff on the appointment to the position of director. This has never happened and never will, Krokk stressed. "The director is a profession, not a trade union leader that we choose. The founder, trusting this person, shifts responsibility for the theater to him. Elections are outside the legal law in force in Russia,"- explained the director.

The first thing to do is to try to start working together with Apeksimova, and not engage in squabbles and writing complaints, Krokk is sure. "I understand that this is already the norm for you. No matter who the department of culture appoints, I am convinced that the trade union will lead this line that is detrimental to the theater, even oppose the director with experience and experience. This is a given of today," he concluded.

Moscow City Duma in the face Chairman of the Commission on Culture and Mass Communications Yevgeny Gerasimov took on the responsibility of supervising this issue and asked Apeksimova in two weeks to "provide" the creative concept for the development of the Taganka Theater. The prospects of "becoming one family" and establishing a dialogue in the name of preserving the creative heritage of Lyubimov are still vague. "Taganka", full of "fire of anger", destroys the very process of creation, and the new director has nothing to offer as an alternative.

The Taganka Theater was founded in 1946. But his real story begins almost two decades later, when Yuri Lyubimov took over as chief director. He came with his graduation performance, which caused a resonance from the very first show. on Taganka, involved in the productions of Lyubimov in subsequent years, became known throughout the country. Among them are Vladimir Vysotsky, Valery Zolotukhin, Leonid Yarmolnik.

Short story

The theater was founded a year after the end of the war. Then it was called differently. The first production at the Drama and Comedy Theater, the main director of which was A. Plotnikov, was a play based on the work of the writer Vasily Grossman.

Yuri Lyubimov, who took Plotnikov's place in 1964, came to the theater with his students. The first performance of the new director was The Kind Man from Sichuan. The leading actors of the Taganka Theater at that time were Boris Khmelnitsky, Anatoly Vasiliev, Alla Demidova.

Lyubimov regularly updated the troupe. He gave preference to graduates of the Shchukin school. So, in the mid-sixties, Vladimir Vysotsky, Nikolai Gubenko, Valery Zolotukhin came to the theater. A few years later, the director invited Ivan Bortnik, Leonid Filatov, Vitaly Shaposhnikov to the troupe.

heyday

The Taganka Theater soon became known throughout the country as the most avant-garde. Lyubimov almost never uses scenery. His productions cause incessant controversy among critics. Actors of the Taganka Theater become real stars. In the sixties and seventies, every Soviet intelligent person dreams of getting into Lyubimov's productions.

In the eighties, Yuri Lyubimov went abroad. During this period, the popularity of the theater falls. Nikolai Gubenko becomes the leader. Then, after the return of Lyubimov from exile, the theater undergoes a reorganization. For several years, the position of artistic director has been occupied by Valery Zolotukhin.

Today, the actors of the Taganka Theater are Dmitry Vysotsky, Anastasia Kolpikova, Ivan Bortnik and others.

Vladimir Vysotsky

The theater has gone through different times. The composition of the troupe was constantly updated. But the name of this actor, even more than thirty years after his death, is forever associated with him.

Vladimir Vysotsky has been an actor at the Taganka Theater since 1964. He was involved in sixteen years of work in fourteen productions. In a few of them - in the lead role. However, the theater is partly obliged to Vysotsky for such a loud glory that swept throughout the Soviet Union. Millions dreamed of getting into the production of Hamlet. However, not even every inhabitant of the capital managed to purchase the coveted ticket.

For the first time, Vladimir Vysotsky appeared on stage as the Second God in the production of The Good Man from Sichuan. Then there were works in such performances as "Anti-Worlds", "Ten Days That Shook the World", "The Fallen and the Living". In 1966, the premiere of "The Life of Heliley" took place. In this production, Vysotsky played the main role.

"Hamlet"

Actors of the Taganka Theater, who played in the production based on Shakespeare's work:

1. Vladimir Vysotsky.
2. Veniamin Smekhov.
3. Alla Demidova.
4. Natalya Sayko.
5. Ivan Bortnik.
6. Alexander Filippenko.

The play premiered in 1971. The production received many positive reviews, despite the fact that it was innovative for the Soviet theater scene. In addition, it was easy to consider criticism of the authorities that existed at that time. The role of Hamlet for Vysotsky became, according to many, the pinnacle of his acting skills. At the same time, some modern critics believe that the actor succeeded in this role, with the exception of the famous monologue "To be or not to be", the key to the plot. Vysotsky, according to professionals, could not play a doubt. This actor could only "be".

"Crime and Punishment"

The play premiered in 1979. Raskolnikov was played by Alexander Trofimov. Boris Khmelnitsky took the stage as Razumikhin. The Taganka Theater was the most visited in Moscow. And the production based on the work of Dostoevsky aroused no less public interest than the performances of Hamlet and The Life of Galileo. A year and a half after the premiere, the performer of the role of Svidrigailov passed away. On July 25, 1980, the Taganka Theater, whose playbill was known to all the capital's theater-goers for the next few days, was closed to the audience: Vladimir Vysotsky died. The performances were canceled, but not a single person returned the ticket to the box office.

Valery Zolotukhin

This actor played more than twenty roles in the Taganka Theater. Including in the play "Vladimir Vysotsky", which premiered in 1981. Actors of the Taganka Theater involved in this production:

1. Ekaterina Varkova.
2. Alexey Grabbe.
3. Anastasia Kolpikova.
4. Anatoly Vasiliev.
5. Tatiana Sidorenko.
6. Sergei Trifonov.

In 2011, Zolotukhin was appointed director of the theater. This event was preceded by a scandal caused by disagreements between Lyubimov and the actors. Two years later, Zolotukhin left the post of director. At the end of March 2013, the actor and director passed away.

Anatoly Vasiliev

This actor came to the theater in 1964. He acted in films a little, but was involved in most of Lyubimov's productions. Anatoly Vasiliev is an actor of the Taganka Theater, who devoted more than fifty years to it. The last production in which he played was a play based on Kafka's phantasmagorical work "The Castle".

Other actors

Leonid Yarmolnik worked at the Taganka Theater for several years. He was involved in only a few performances. Among them are Rush Hour, The Master and Margarita, The Fallen and the Living.

Vitaly Shaposhnikov has been an actor at the Taganka Theater since 1968. In 1985 he moved to Sovremennik. But two years later he returned to the walls of his native theater. Shaposhnikov played foreman Vaskov in the production of "The Dawns Here Are Quiet", the main role in the play "Emelyan Pugachev". After the death of Vysotsky, the actor went on stage in the role of the scoundrel Svidrigailov. Also, Vitaly Shaposhnikov was involved in the performances "Tartuffe", "Mother", "Fasten your seat belts."

Boris Khmelnitsky played Woland in a production based on Bulgakov's novel The Master and Margarita. He also has theatrical works in such performances as "The Life of Galileo Galilei", "Pugachev", "Three Sisters".

Dmitry Vysotsky has been an actor at the Taganka Theater since 2001. Involved in the following performances:

1. "Venetian Twins"
2. "Woe from Wit".
3. "Eugene Onegin".
4. "Master and Margarita".
5. "Arabesques".
6. "Lock".

In the performance based on the famous work of Mikhail Bulgakov, Vysotsky plays the main role.

"The Fallen and the Living"

The play premiered in 1965. It is dedicated to the writers and poets who participated in the Second World War. Poetic works by Mayakovsky, Tvardovsky, Svetlov were used in the performance. Mikhail Kulchitsky - a young poet who died at the front in 1943 - played the role of Pavel Kogan - the author of romantic works, who also did not return from the battlefield - was played by Boris Khmelnitsky.

"House on the Embankment"

In 1980, Yuri Lyubimov staged a performance based on the novel by Yuri Trifonov. In those distant Soviet years, this was a rather bold act. Much was known about the Stalinist terror of the thirties, but it was dangerous to talk about these tragic pages in Soviet history so loudly. The premiere of "House on the Embankment" was an exciting event in the cultural life of Moscow. The main roles were played by Valery Zolotukhin and

"Doctor Zhivago"

The premiere of the performance based on the novel, for which the author was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1965, took place two years after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The director managed to preserve the unique poetics of Pasternak. The production used the music of Alfred Schnittke.

Other performances that once went on the stage of the Taganka Theater:

1. "Electra".
2. "Teenager".
3. "Medea".
4. The Brothers Karamazov.
5. "Sharashka".
6. "Socrates".

"Master and Margarita"

Yuri Lyubimov is the first theater director who brought the plot of a great novel to the stage. The production uses works by composers Prokofiev, Strauss and Albinoni. The performance has been running for more than a quarter of a century. Reviews of the audience about him are different: from negative to enthusiastic. However, Lyubimov's staging style has always evoked mixed responses from the public.

The masters in the performance are played alternately by Dmitry Vysotsky and the role of the protagonist's beloved is played by three actresses: Maria Matveeva, Alla Smirdan, Anastasia Kolpikova. Pontius Pilate is played by Ivan Ryzhikov. Other actors involved in the production:

1. Alexander Trofimov.
2. Nikita Luchikhin.
3. Erwin Haas.
4. Sergei Trifonov.
5. Timur Badalbeyli.
6. Alexander Lyrchikov.

"Viy"

The premiere of the performance based on Gogol's most mystical story took place in October 2016. This production is an unusual combination of texts by the Russian classic and compositions by musician Venya D'rkin, who passed away in 1999. Khoma Bruta is played by Pannochka - Alexandra Basova.

What performances does the Taganka Theater present in 2017?

Poster

1. "Elsa" (January 14).
2. "Venetian Twins" (January 15).
3. "Vladimir Vysotsky" (January 25).
4. "Golden Dragon" (January 26).
5. "Faust" (February 1).
6. "Old, old fairy tale" (February 5).
7. "Master and Margarita" (February 7).
8. "Eugene Onegin" (February 11).

THEATER ON TAGANKA, The Moscow Taganka Theater was created in 1964 on the basis of the troupe of the Moscow Drama and Comedy Theater (organized in 1946), which included graduates of the Theater School. Schukin. Main directors: Yu.P. Lyubimov (1964–1984), A.V. Efros (1984–1987), N.N. Gubenko (1987–1989), Yu.P. Lyubimov (since 1989). Each of these names is associated with its own, stormy and dramatic period in the history of the theater.

The early 1960s were the time of the reformation of the Soviet theater. A new aesthetics was affirmed, the names of young directors O. Efremov, A. Efros, in Leningrad - G. Tovstonogov thundered. Theater, along with poetry, became the main art of the Khrushchev thaw period, a herald of new ideas, a stronghold of the liberal intelligentsia.

In 1963, the third year of the Shchukin School under the direction of Y. Lyubimov showed the play Good man from Sezuan B. Brecht. The aesthetics of the performance were sharply out of the directions that existed at that time; she proclaimed a vivid theatricality, the fundamental absence of a "fourth wall", a multiplicity, even redundancy of stage techniques, surprisingly fusing the spectacle into a single wholeness. It clearly felt the revival of the theatrical traditions of the dynamic 1920s, directed by V.E. Meyerhold and E. Vakhtangov. Y. Lyubimov was asked to head the Moscow Drama and Comedy Theater, and he reorganized its troupe from the graduates of his course.

Preparations for the opening of the renovated theater lasted for about a year. His sign was the portraits placed in the foyer of the theater: V. Meyerhold, E. Vakhtangov, B. Brecht, K. Stanislavsky. They continue to decorate the foyer of the theatre.

The Drama and Comedy Theater on Taganka opened on April 23, 1964 with a performance Good man from Sezuan. However, his cast was already somewhat different. Y. Lyubimov carefully formed the troupe of the theater, recruiting actors who were close to him in terms of aesthetic principles, ready to improve their technique, master new techniques and ways of stage existence. Probably, the main achievement of the first Tagankov performance is the impossibility of dividing the participants into “us” and “outsiders”: they all spoke the same language, preserving the unity of the performance’s aesthetics and enriching it with their personal and acting experience.

Thus began the first stage of life, probably, the most "loud" Moscow theater - the Taganka Theater. Here, the principles of the “sixties” were maximally reflected, about which B. Okudzhava sang: “Let's join hands, friends, so as not to disappear one by one ...” Lyubimov united writers and poets close to him in spirit in the production groups of his performances (A. Voznesensky, B .Mozhaev, F.Abramov, Yu.Trifonov), theater artists (B.Blank, D.Borovsky, E.Stenberg, Yu.Vasiliev, E.Kochergin, S.Barkhin, M.Anikst), composers (D.Shostakovich, A. Schnittke, E. Denisov, S. Gubaidulina, N. Sidelnikov). The artistic council of the theater became a special phenomenon, each of whose members had significant professional and public authority and was ready to defend Taganka's performances in the "highest" offices.

The main creative direction of Taganka was the poetic theater, but not chamber, but journalistic poetry. In a certain sense, this direction was “doomed to success”: it was the poets-publicists who gathered full stadiums of spectators and listeners in the late 1960s and became the idols of their contemporaries. It is no coincidence that two performances based on the works of A. Voznesensky were included in the repertoire of the theater - Antiworlds And Take care of your faces(the second of them was banned shortly after the premiere, which only added to the performance's popularity). Poetry performances were the mirror of the artistic program of the theater Fallen and alive, Listen, Pugachev etc. However, the spirit of free and socially significant poetry dominated in the productions of prose or dramatic works, a vivid stage metaphor full of modern allusions. So it was with performances Ten Days That Shook the World, And the Dawns Here Are Quiet, Hamlet, Wooden Horses, Exchange, Master and Margarita, House on the Embankment and etc.

The Taganka Theater gave rise to the huge popularity of its actors. Many of them began to act in films a lot (V. Zolotukhin, L. Filatov, I. Bortnik, S. Farada, A. Demidova, I. Ulyanova, etc.). However, the names of those Taganka artists whose cinematic life was less successful also became legendary. The clearest example is Z. Slavina, who practically does not have high-profile roles in the cinema, but, undoubtedly, was a star of the first magnitude in those years. And, of course, V. Vysotsky, whose fame was absolute, and as "scandalous" as the glory of the entire Taganka theater. The acting work of the theater amazed not only with its journalistic temperament and unusual way of stage existence, but also with the unique plastic development of images. So, for example, the famous Khlopushi monologue in the play based on S. Yesenin Pugachev V. Vysotsky performed, it seemed, beyond the physical capabilities of a person.

Y. Lyubimov's performances have always been, undoubtedly, the author's, and are distinguished by an extremely interesting work with the text. The author of many compositions was the then wife of Lyubimov, an actress of the Vakhtangov Theater, L. Tselikovskaya ( And the dawns here are quiet, Wooden horses, Comrade, believe... and etc.).

By the end of the 1970s, the Taganka Theater was becoming world famous. At the International Theater Festival "BITEF" in Yugoslavia (1976), the play "Hamlet" staged by Y. Lyubimov with V. Vysotsky in the title role was awarded the Grand Prix. Y. Lyubimov also received the first prize at the II International Theater Festival "Warsaw Theater Meetings" (1980). Many aesthetic techniques of the Taganka Theater have become truly innovative and have become classics of the modern theater (light curtain, etc.). D.Borovsky, one of the best set designers of our time, a permanent artist of the theater, made a huge contribution to the development of the visual image of the performances.

However, along with the artistic, the public, social authority of the Taganka Theater of that time is of particular interest. With each performance, his political sound became more acute and frank. Contradictory and ambiguous relations have developed between the theater and the official authorities. On the one hand, Y. Lyubimov took the position of an "official dissident": almost every performance of his made its way to the audience with difficulty, under serious pressure and being under the threat of a ban. At the same time, by 1980, the authorities built a new building for the Taganka Theater with modern technical equipment. Democratic, anti-petty-bourgeois and very complex aesthetic performances of the theater counted among their fans not only the liberal intelligentsia, but also the managerial, bureaucratic elite. In the 1970s, a ticket to the Taganka Theater became a sign of prestige among the so-called. "bourgeois" layer - along with a sheepskin coat, branded jeans, a car, a cooperative apartment.

This stage in the life of the theater was accompanied by loud scandals; even before the release of his performances were included in the context of the artistic life of Moscow. This state of affairs could not last long. In a certain sense, the death of V. Vysotsky in 1980 became a sign that marked the end of this stage in the life of the theater. In the same year, at the invitation of Y. Lyubimov, N. Gubenko returned to the Taganka Theater.

In the early 1980s the play Vladimir Vysotsky, dedicated to the memory of the poet and artist Lyubimov, was strictly forbidden to be shown. The next performance was also closed, Boris Godunov as well as rehearsals Theatrical novel. And in 1984, while Y. Lyubimov was in England staging a play Crime and Punishment, he was dismissed from the post of artistic director of the Taganka Theater and deprived of Soviet citizenship.

The staff of the Taganka Theater was completely at a loss. And at this time, the authorities are making a very strong political move, leading the theater to zugzwang, to a situation where under no circumstances could it win: A. Efros is appointed the main director. The creative individuality of A. Efros was very different, if not contradictory, to that of Y. Lyubimov. True, back in 1975, Lyubimov invited A. Efros to the Taganka Theater to stage cherry orchard. Then it was undoubtedly a step of solidarity with the disgraced director; and a one-time work of actors with a representative of a different aesthetic trend was regarded as enriching the creative palette of the team. But in 1984, a change in artistic direction would have meant a radical change in the entire aesthetic platform of the theater. However, the reasons for the deep conflict between Taganka and Efros in the mid-1980s were undoubtedly not creative, but social and moral: the main principle of the “sixties” was violated - unity.

Lyubimov himself regarded the arrival of A. Efros at Taganka as a strike-breaking and a violation of corporate solidarity. Some of the artists, joining his opinion, defiantly left the troupe (for example, L. Filatov). Few were capable of creative cooperation - V. Zolotukhin, V. Smekhov, A. Demidova. Most of the "Lubimov" artists actually announced a boycott to Efros. There were no right and wrong in this conflict: everyone was right; and they all lost too. A. Efros restored in the Taganka Theater The Cherry Orchard, put At the bottom, Misanthrope, Perfect Sunday for a picnic. And in 1987 A. Efros died.

N. Gubenko became the artistic director of the Taganka Theater at the request of the collective. He also led the two-year struggle for returning to his homeland and to the theater of Y. Lyubimov. In 1989, Yu. Lyubimov became the first known emigrant to whom citizenship was returned. His name was officially returned to the context of the artistic life of Russia; previously banned performances have been restored. However, the "return to normal" did not work. Y. Lyubimov could not devote as much time to the Taganka Theater as before - he was forced to combine work with productions under already concluded foreign contracts. The existence of the actors was also complicated by the then social upheavals associated with hyperinflation and a change in the political formation. The theater was once again divided. This time the conflict was growing with Y. Lyubimov.

In 1993, a significant part of the Taganka team (including 36 actors) separated into a separate theater under the direction of N. Gubenko. "Commonwealth of Taganka Actors" is working on the new theater stage. Y. Lyubimov, with the remaining and newly recruited actors, works in the old building. Among them are such "veterans" of Taganka as V. Zolotukhin, V. Shapovalov, B. Khmelnitsky, A. Trofimov, A. Grabbe, I. Bortnik and others.

Since 1997, Yu. Lyubimov has refused foreign contracts, having decided to devote himself entirely to the Taganka Theater again. After his return, he staged a number of classical performances: Feast in Time of Plague A.S. Pushkin, Suicide N. Erdman, Elektra Sophocles Zhivago (Doctor) B. Pasternak, Medea Euripides, Teenager F.M. Dostoevsky, Chronicles W. Shakespeare, Eugene Onegin A.S. Pushkin, theatrical romance M. Bulgakov, Faust I.V. Goethe. The repertoire also includes contemporary works: Marat and the Marquis de Sade P. Weiss, Sharashka according to A. Solzhenitsyn and others. The Taganka Theater is popular with the audience, however, this is undoubtedly a completely different theater.

In December 2010, Lyubimov resigned. The reason for his departure was a conflict with the troupe.

In July 2011, Valery Zolotukhin became the theater director and artistic director. In March 2013, Zolotukhin left the post due to health reasons.

"The Youth Theater on Taganka, created by Yuri Lyubimov, continues the traditions of the revolutionary theater - the traditions of Mayakovsky, The Blue Blouse, Vsevolod Meyerhold, Bertolt Brecht. Subtle psychological dialogue, shadow theater, cinema, pantomime, stage, play of light - everything merged into an unusual fusion ", heated by the enthusiasm of young artists. It is very young, this theater. It is only taking its first steps. But these steps are decisive. And let them sound firmly in our art!"
Alexander Svobodin, theater critic
"Krugozor" No. 6 1965

The Moscow Drama and Comedy Theater was founded in 1946, Alexander Plotnikov became the chief director, and the troupe consisted of students from Moscow theater studios and actors from peripheral theaters. The first premiere of the new team was the play "The People is Immortal" based on the novel by Vasily Grossman. The theater was given the premises of the former electric theater (cinema) "Volcano" built in 1911 (architect G.A. Gelrikh). Actually, the cinema existed there only before the revolution, and in the 1920-1930s this hall became a theater platform.

1915:

In the early 60s, the Drama and Comedy Theater turned out to be one of the least visited theaters in the capital - in January 1964, Plotnikov had to resign, the post of chief director was entrusted to Yuri Lyubimov, at that time better known as an actor of the Vakhtangov Theater and a teacher at the Schukin.

Lyubimov came to the theater with his students from the Shchukin school and their graduation performance - “The Good Man from Sezuan” based on the play by B. Brecht. The performance was the debut on the professional stage for Zinaida Slavina, Alla Demidova, Boris Khmelnitsky, Anatoly Vasiliev. Lyubimov significantly updated the troupe, producing an additional set of young artists - Valery Zolotukhin, Inna Ulyanova, Veniamin Smekhov, Nikolai Gubenko, Vladimir Vysotsky were enrolled in the theater, and in the late 60s - Leonid Filatov, Felix Antipov, Ivan Bortnik, Vitaly Shapovalov.

Under the direction of Lyubimov, the Taganka Drama and Comedy Theater immediately gained a reputation as the most avant-garde theater in the country. Like the early Sovremennik, the theater dispensed with a curtain and almost did not use scenery, replacing them with various stage structures. The performances actively used pantomime, shadow theater, music was used in Brechtian style. The very name of the theater became shorter over time: the Taganka Theater.

It was almost impossible to buy a ticket for some performances, they say that theatre-goers queued at the box office in the evening. In the theater's repertoire in the early years there were poetic performances "Comrade, believe ..." (according to A. Pushkin), "Listen!" (according to V. Mayakovsky), "Antimirs" (according to A. Voznesensky), "The Fallen and the Living" (about poets who died in the war), "Under the Skin of the Statue of Liberty" (based on the poem by E. Yevtushenko), dramatic performances "Ten Days who shook the world" (J. Reed), "Mother" M. Gorky, "What to do?" N. Chernyshevsky, "... And the dawns here are quiet" B. Vasiliev, "House on the embankment" Y. Trifonov.

1966-1970:

1967-1970:

The people were bursting into Taganka performances, but the idyllic relationship between the artist and the official quickly faded away. The chief director Yuri Lyubimov was not going to bend, and the authorities used force: new performances were not allowed, tours were canceled. In addition to complaints about the repertoire, art historians in civilian clothes did not like the participation in the performances of Vladimir Vysotsky, a poet who performed his own songs of very dubious content to the guitar. Although Vysotsky himself modestly answered in an interview that "without the Taganka Theater there would be no Vysotsky," he was the cornerstone in the Lyubov building, the performer of the main roles in the best performances: "Hamlet", "The Cherry Orchard", "Life of Galileo", " Pugachev" and others. Despite all the difficulties, the 1960s and 1970s became the golden age of the Taganka.

In the early 1970s, a decision was made to reconstruct the theatre. Architect Alexander Anisimov did a great job on the sketches, taking into account the wishes of Yuri Lyubimov. Although construction began in 1972, the new theater hall only opened in April 1980. The reason for the long-term construction was the lack of funding, and the lack of building materials, and the adjustment of plans by Lyubimov. As a result, the old theater was saved and a red brick building with a new stage was added to it. Lyubimov seemed to have a presentiment that scandals would begin in the theater later and the troupe would be divided in two. In the meantime, Vysotsky sang about the bricks, which "remind everyone of a government house."

1987:

After the death of Vysotsky, the theater experienced troubled times, as if it was being pursued by evil fate. One of the artists called the Taganka of the 1980s "a terrarium of like-minded people." Yuri Lyubimov was in conflict with the authorities and in 1984 was deprived of Soviet citizenship. The Taganka troupe was waiting for his return and boycotted the famous director Anatoly Efros, who was appointed to replace Lyubimov. In 1987-1989, the theater was directed by Nikolai Gubenko, who contributed to the return of Yuri Lyubimov to his homeland. But even here there were some conflicts, in 1992 the theater was divided into Lyubov's "Taganka Theater" (old stage) and Gubenkov's "Commonwealth of Taganka Actors" (new stage).

The Vysotsky Museum was opened in the Nizhny Tagansky Dead End in the 1990s, and later the Vysotsky Club.