Today, the theater is not the same as in the pre-cinematic era, when it was the center of the cultural life of society. At that time, theater actors, like film actors today, were idols. Trying to talk about their weekdays and holidays, in 1937, Somerset Maugham wrote the novel Theater. Since its inception, much has changed, but now this book, like its main character, Julia Lambert, continues to interest readers.
Somerset Maugham’s novel Theater
This ironic work is the best among the creative heritage of Maugham. Many readers are still wondering if the main character Julia Lambert (Lambert) had a real prototype or was only a figment of the writer’s imagination.
Shortly after publication, the novel became popular not only in the UK, but also in other countries. This was served not only by an interesting plot revealing the secrets of the backstage life of theater stars, but also by the inimitable irony of the author. Another highlight was that the writer in the Theater delicately touched the so-called forbidden topic of homosexuality among women.
After many years, interest in the novel did not fade away, and in 1962 the Germans shot the film “Charming Julia” based on this work. In the USSR, “Theater” was filmed 16 years later. The English-language film adaptation of this book entitled “Being Julia” appeared only in 2004. If the German film did not gain much popularity, the films “Being Julia” and “Theater” pleased the audience, and each adaptation of the book showed the main character in completely different ways. .
The plot of the novel about Julia Lambert
At the beginning of the story, the main character - actress Julia Lambert (age 46) achieved everything that she could only dream of. Her amazing acting talent is appreciated, she is rich, she is accepted in high society, she has a reliable spouse, a wonderful son and loyal fans.
However, after meeting with twenty-year-old clerk Tom Fennel, Julia loses her head. At first, she was simply flattered by the attention of an ardent young man, but later she fell desperately in love with him.
Despite her passion, Julia Lambert gradually realizes that her lover is just an alpha. The last straw is that Tom falls in love with the mediocre young actress Evis Crichton and tries with Julia’s help to arrange her for the role in the new play.
Gathering the will into a fist, the main character parted with Fennel and temporarily leaves for her homeland, in France. Here she comes to herself and forgets Tom. However, returning home, Julia Lambert decides to avenge both the unfaithful Tom and his passion, and to do this as an actress, and not as a woman. She masterfully manages not only to fail Criton’s acting debut, but also conquers the stormy applause of the audience with her game.
Julia Lambert: biography of the heroine
In addition to the main events of the book, it simultaneously describes how the heroine became famous. The future best actress in the UK was born in the family of a veterinarian. At first, her aunt taught the young girl acting, but later she continued her education at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
After studying, Julia Lambert got a job in one of the provincial theaters, where she was noticed by Jimmy Langton. This drunkard and loser was a talented director, he not only taught the young actress a lot, but also helped her to make a career.
At the Langdon Theater, Miss Lambert met her future husband Michael. He was incredibly handsome and just as incredibly mediocre. Becoming his wife, the actress soon became disappointed in him as a man, but he became her a good business partner. Michael, with the financial support of the extravagant rich girl Dolly de Vries, opened his own theater, where his wife played all the main roles. The acting fame of Julia helped their family enter the elite of society. However, becoming successful and rich, the heroine wanted to be loved ...
Relations of Julia and other characters
Being a great actress, the main character managed to twirl around as she wanted, but sometimes it came out to her side.
In a relationship with Michael, at first she had an ardent faithful love. It was because of this that she was terribly jealous of him. But later, upon seeing his pettiness, greed and prudence, he became disappointed in him and fell out of love. However, all subsequent years, the actress successfully played the role of a loving wife in front of him, because as a husband and director, he was quite happy with her. As for Michael himself, then disappointed in himself as an actor, he held on to Julia. It is noteworthy that he was not so interested in his wife's feelings that he calmly reacted to the termination of sexual relations with her after several years of marriage. Moreover, he believed that after the birth of her son, Julia had no sexual desires.
In Tom, the great actress was attracted by his passion for her.
Lover was the opposite of indifferent Michael, he adored sex and did not consider Julia old for this. Moreover, even when in love with Evis, he did not miss the opportunity to spend the night with the great actress. Miss Lambert was for him a ticket to high society, but Tom sincerely admired her acting on stage.
Long before the appearance of Tom, the great actress already had a lover - Lord Charles Tammerly, however, their relationship was platonic. Thanks to this man, Julia Lambert learned to superficially understand art, but this knowledge was enough to look like a fine connoisseur. During their long-term romance, Charles several times persuaded her lover to divorce her husband, but this was not part of her plans and she deftly refused. Disappointed in Tom, the actress decided to spend the night with Charles as a reward for his many years of devotion, but he refused, as his age no longer allowed him.
Interestingly, in the 2004 film adaptation, the Lord was turned into a homosexual and this was justified by his refusal to have sex with Julia.
One of the most piquant storylines is the relationship between Lambert and Dolly de Vries. At the beginning of his acquaintance, Michael sincerely believed that the rich woman was crazy about him and therefore gave money to open a theater. Unlike her husband, Julia quickly guessed that Dolly was in love with her. But the great actress managed for many years to keep this passion of a friend in control. Dolly was not jealous of Michael and Charles Tammerly, as she felt that her friend was cold towards them. But with the advent of Tom, she became worried and for the first time in all her long-standing friendship made a scandal, which Julia had difficulty managing to resolve.
But the relationship with the son of the actress did not work out. Roger loved his mother, but unlike his parents, he was not inclined to pretend. Therefore, he once expressed to his mother everything that he thinks about her pretense. This is the only character Julia could not cope with, so she felt uncomfortable in his presence.
If all the previous characters loved the main character, then Evis Crichton wanted to outshine her. Tomiskrenna fell in love with Evis and therefore did not make out her true nature, but Julia Lambert understood her well. Actress Miss Crichton was lousy, but she was pretty and able to use it. According to the main character, her rival was ready to sleep with anyone who offered her a good role. Enchanting Tom, Evis took up Michael, not even suspecting that Miss Lambert herself intentionally pushed her husband into her arms.
Separate attention deserves Julia's relationship with the theater. For the great actress, this was the only place where she could be herself, without putting on masks, as in everyday life. In fact, the theater was the only true love and reality for Miss Lambert, and at the end of the book the heroine realized this.
Theater with Vija Artmane
The most successful and close to the plot of the book is the Soviet film adaptation of 1978.
In it, Julia Lambert (actress Viya Artmane) is shown, as in a novel, an aging, but beautiful and full of life woman. A particularly successful find is the conversation of the main character with the narrator.
Thanks to this, it is possible to more fully show her inner experiences and her magnificent ability to hide them.
“Being Julia” with Annette Bening
The second famous film adaptation is the film “Being Julia” (in the Russian box office “Theater”). The plot of this tape only remotely resembles the story in which Julia Lambert appears. The actress (photo by Annette Bening, who played this role, below) in this adaptation is a youthful skinny hysterical woman who is not able to completely control herself. After breaking up with Tom, she soon discovers that Evis is trying to get an affair with Michael and is punishing her. The writers were especially free to deal with the failure of Miss Crichton's debut. Here the great actress does not demonstrate her skills, as in a book, but improvises, and not very successfully.
Despite such a perversion of the image of the main character, the film was warmly received, and Annette Bening was even nominated for an Oscar.
Although the theater is slowly dying today, the life of the actors, especially the famous ones, is not much different from that described in the Theater. Constant intrigues and attempts to overshadow or use - this is the harsh reality of this profession. And the audience can only hope that in the cinema and on the stage there will still be such talented actresses as Julia Lambert, even if she is a fictional character.