Anatoly Vasilievich Efros (russian: Анатолий Васильевич Эфрос; July 3, 1925,
Kharkiv
Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
) was a Soviet theatre and film director. He was a leading interpreter of Russian classics during the
Era of Stagnation
The "Era of Stagnation" (russian: Пери́од засто́я, Períod zastóya, or ) is a term coined by Mikhail Gorbachev in order to describe the negative way in which he viewed the economic, political, and social policies of the Soviet Uni ...
and "received numerous awards for creative excellence".
His writings on theatre were published in English under the titles ''The Joy of Rehearsal: Reflections on Interpretation and Practice'' () and ''The Craft of Rehearsal: Further Reflections on Interpretation and Practice'' ().
Children's Theatre and the Lenkom
Efros was born in
Kharkiv
Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.Central Theatre for Children in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
and managed to transform it from a conservative backwater into one of the most fashionable Soviet theatres.
At that early period, he staged many plays by
Victor Rozov
Viktor Sergeyevich Rozov (in russian: Виктор Сергеевич Розов, 21 August, 1913 – 28 September, 2004 Moscow) was a Soviet and Russian dramatist and screenwriter. He wrote more than 20 dramatic pieces and 6 film scripts, includ ...
, including ''Searching for Happiness'' (1957), ''Unequal Battle'' (1960), ''Before Supper'' (1962). In 1963, Efros moved to the
Lenkom Theatre
Lenkom Theatre, formerly known as Lenin’s Komsomol Moscow Theatre or Moscow Leninist Komsomol Theatre is the official name of what was once known as the Moscow State Theatre named after Komsomol, a Communist youth league set up by Vladimir Len ...
and worked there for three years. It was there that he staged another of Rozov's plays, ''On the Wedding Day'' (1964).
Viña Delmar
Viña Delmar (born Alvina Louise Croter; January 29, 1903 – January 19, 1990) was an American short story writer, novelist, playwright, and screenwriter who worked from the 1920s to the 1970s. She rose to fame in the late 1920s with the publ ...
's ''Make Way for Tomorrow'' was produced by him in the
Mossovet Theatre
Mossovet State Academic Theatre (Государственный академический театр имени Театр Моссовета) is one of the oldest theatres of Moscow, opened in 1923 and based at Bolshaya Sadovaya, 16.
History
Mos ...
(1966), with
Faina Ranevskaya
Faina Georgievna Ranevskaya (russian: Фаина Георгиевна Раневская, born Faina Girschevna Feldman, — 19 July 1984), is recognized as one of the greatest Soviet actresses in both tragedy and comedy. She was also famous for ...
and
Rostislav Plyatt
Rostislav Yanovich Plyatt (russian: Ростислав Янович Плятт; — 30 June 1989) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor. He was named People's Artist of the USSR in 1961 and awarded the USSR State Prize in 1982.
Biograph ...
in leading roles.
Malaya Bronnaya Theatre
The most fruitful period of Efros's career is associated with his work in the Malaya Bronnaya Theatre (1967–84). While working in that theatre, he attracted the crowds of Moscow
intelligentsia
The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the in ...
to his impeccably acted productions of Chekhov's ''Three Sisters'' (1967), Moliere's ''Don Juan'' (1974), and Gogol's ''The Marriage'' (1974). The Communist authorities did not fail to detect a note of discontent in his interpretations of classics and moved to shut them down. Olga Yakovleva and
Lev Durov
Lev Konstantinovich Durov ( rus, Лев Константинович Дуров, p=ˈlʲef kənstɐnʲˈtʲinəvʲɪdʑ ˈdurəf; 23 December 1931 – 20 August 2015) was a Soviet and Russian theatre and film actor who appeared in more than 200 ...
were the actors he most frequently worked with.
In 1978, he filmed his fifth and final movie, ''On Thursday, and Never Again''. This psychologically poignant drama, set in the taut atmosphere of
Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...
's plays, featured an impressive cast of actors, led by
Innokenty Smoktunovsky
Innokenty Mikhailovich Smoktunovsky (russian: Иннокентий Михайлович Смоктуновский; born ''Smoktunovich'', 28 March 19253 August 1994) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor. He was named a People's Artist ...
.
Taganka Theatre
In the 1970s, Efros collaborated with the stage director
Yury Lyubimov
Yuri Petrovich Lyubimov (russian: Ю́рий Петро́вич Люби́мов; 5 October 2014) was a Soviet and Russian stage actor and director associated with the internationally renowned Taganka Theatre, which he founded in 1964. He was one ...
on several projects. In 1973, for instance, he directed a TV adaptation of
Mikhail Bulgakov
Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov ( rus, links=no, Михаил Афанасьевич Булгаков, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ɐfɐˈnasʲjɪvʲɪtɕ bʊlˈɡakəf; – 10 March 1940) was a Soviet writer, medical doctor, and playwright active in the fir ...
's play ''The Cabal of Hypocrites'', with Lyubimov in the title role of
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...
. Two years later, Lyubimov invited Efros into his own
Taganka Theatre
Taganka Theatre (russian: link=no, Театр на Таганке, Театр драмы и комедии на Таганке, "Таганка") is a theater located in the Art Nouveau building on Taganka Square in Moscow.
History
The Drama and ...
to stage ''
The Cherry Orchard
''The Cherry Orchard'' (russian: Вишнёвый сад, translit=Vishnyovyi sad) is the last play by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. Written in 1903, it was first published by ''Znaniye'' (Book Two, 1904), and came out as a separate edition ...
''. Both directors were drawn to the traditions of
Vsevolod Meyerhold
Vsevolod Emilyevich Meyerhold (russian: Всеволод Эмильевич Мейерхольд, translit=Vsévolod Èmíl'evič Mejerchól'd; born german: Karl Kasimir Theodor Meyerhold; 2 February 1940) was a Russian and Soviet theatre ...
and
Yevgeny Vakhtangov
Yevgeny Bagrationovich Vakhtangov (also spelled Evgeny or Eugene; russian: Евге́ний Багратио́нович Вахта́нгов; 13 February 1883 – 29 May 1922) was a Russian-Armenian actor and theatre director who founded the ...
.
In 1984, after Lyubimov left the
Taganka Theatre
Taganka Theatre (russian: link=no, Театр на Таганке, Театр драмы и комедии на Таганке, "Таганка") is a theater located in the Art Nouveau building on Taganka Square in Moscow.
History
The Drama and ...
for the West, Efros accepted an offer to run that theatre. Most of the actors, however, treated him as an enemy and sometimes flatly refused to cooperate with him. It is thought that the conflict with the Taganka actors contributed to Efros's premature death.