For the first time with the story described in the play by Nadezhda Ptushkina “While she was dying,” Russian viewers met in 2000 in the film “Come see me”. It was put by Oleg Yankovsky and Mikhail Agranovich. But earlier the TeatrDom production center presented the play "The Old Maid", the reviews of which were very warm. This touching story was remembered by the audience for its thin storyline. It combines the days of bygone and today's realities. The actors involved in the play "The Old Maid" do not need to be introduced: Inna Churikova, Alexander Mikhailov, Tatyana Vasilyeva.
Strange story
The film "Come Look at Me" appeared at a time when rivers of blood poured from TV screens, "brothers" were measured by the steepness and intricacy of finger configurations at gatherings, "Gangster Petersburg" became a symbol of this era, and another life remained somewhere in the past . And the fact that the famous actor Yankovsky with director Agranovich took up the development of such a strange plot for that era was inexplicable.
The leading actor explained this cinematic turn in this way:
It was a "test of the pen." In a stream of monstrously black cinema, I suddenly wanted to shoot some kind, bright story, I wanted some kind of fairy tale and kindness. Although I profess and love another movie.
But the idea hit the target: at the Vyborg Account contest in 2001, the film became a winner. And since then it has been shown before the New Year’s Eve almost as regularly as “our all” - “The Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath!”.
Story line
The plot of the film and the play "The Old Maid" with Churikova, Mikhailov and Vasilyeva in the lead roles is very common in the context of Russian ideas about sudden happiness, which is explained by the annual New Year’s screening of the comedy by Eldar Ryazanov.
A family lives for itself, consisting of a woman, Tatyana, and her sick mother, Sofia Ivanovna, who has been confined to a wheelchair for 10 years. Their existence is filled with silence, caring for each other, old memories and acceptance of being as it is.
Tatyana has never been married and is considered an old maid. And since she has long crossed the line of 45 years (in the play - 55 years) and her circle of contacts consists of her mother and colleagues at work, the hope of arranging her personal life in her soul has long died. Her days are similar to each other and consist of performing official duties at work and evening communication with her mother.
The celebration of the New Year is each time performed according to a long-established ritual: Tatyana decorates the tree with old (still glass) toys, each of which is associated with a certain memory. And together with Sofia Ivanovna, they return to the past, where there was happiness and everyone was alive and well ...
Probably, it is the atmosphere of old memories, so subtly conveyed in the film and in the play "The Old Maid" (and the reviews confirm this) that make this production so close to almost all age categories of viewers.
And then the moment comes to apply the word "suddenly" ...
Intimate talk
So, everything is predetermined and proceeds in its own order, however, a week before the New Year Sofya Ivanovna is overwhelmed by bad forebodings about her imminent departure from this world. This is not surprising: the elderly lady’s age is venerable, her health is not happy, and all that can still keep her on this earth is maternal feelings and concern for her daughter, who will be left completely alone. And Sofya Ivanovna resolutely begins to discuss with Tatyana this unpleasant, but possible reality.
This is the moment of the play "The Old Maid", according to the opinion of the audience, is considered the beginning of the dynamic untwisting of the storyline. The game of actresses Churikova and Vasilyeva (which is sometimes replaced by Zinaida Sharko) requires filigree accuracy in conveying the shades of mood of each of the heroines.
Unexpected visitor
Sofya Ivanovna (Tatyana Vasilieva) looks at life quite realistically: she understands that the existence that her daughter is forced to accept does not contribute to establishing long-term relationships with men. But she really wants the situation to somehow change and that she could leave her Tanya in good hands.
If you carefully observe the dialogue between mother and daughter, then you can catch the diametrically opposite desires of one and the other in the smallest intonation shades and mise-en-scenes. Sofya Ivanovna is determined to conduct a complete “inventory” of Tatyana’s fate, and she, in turn, does everything in her power to translate this conversation into a familiar and safe everyday life. This is a very delicate psychological moment in which the characters of both heroines are revealed: strong-willed and persistent mothers and soft and patient daughters.
At this point, the dialogue is interrupted: first because the light went out, and then because of a sudden doorbell. A new character appears on the scene - Igor, who mixed up the address. Something that reminds us ...
Two views on the role
The hero of Alexander Mikhailov appears at first to be a kind of aging hero-lover, which, according to reviews of the play "The Old Maid", does not suit the actor at all. If we compare the role picture presented by Oleg Yankovsky in the film “Come see me” and the character transfer of the same Igor performed by Mikhailov, you can see a significant difference.
The hero of Yankovsky is ironic, practical, a little selfish and organic as an experienced womanizer. He watches with some interest in himself, who finds himself in a strange position, deciding the question along the way: does he like to be in an unusual role for himself or not? We can say that his Igor is both a participant and a spectator in this situation.
Mikhailov: role drawing
A completely different Igor performed by Alexander Mikhailov in the play "The Old Maid" with Churikova. Reviews about the picture of this role are very different. To some viewers, the hero seems like a character from the movie Love and Pigeons.
But there are much more people to whom this “uncle in age” liked his thoroughness, sense of humor, in which there is no sarcasm; as well as poorly concealed kindness, which is what Russian men are so valued for. And if Oleg Yankovsky has a hero with cool energy, then Mikhailov Igor, despite all his attempts to seem estranged, is a sincere person.
As for the circumstances due to which the meeting of the two solitudes took place, they are quite familiar to the Russian audience: he went to one woman and got to another ...
Search a woman
So, the intrigue is as follows: a respectable man, single and wealthy, goes to visit his young lover, who is 30 (at least) years younger than him. At the address indicated on a piece of paper, he discovers not a nymph waiting for him, but a woman of Balzac age, who, by a strange coincidence, is also called Tatyana. And there are no other ladies with that name in the apartment. The woman kindly tells him that there are several houses with this number and even hands him a candle for safe descent down the stairs (the light, as we remember, was turned off).
But Igor, this is the name of our womanizer, not having had time to move a few steps, he hears the cry of a lady who tucked her foot on a banana peel lying on the floor. He, as a gentleman, offers her his help. At first, she refuses, but after a few minutes she comes up with the idea that the last days of her dying mother can be brightened up by the thought of the arranged fate of her daughter. Calling on the Christian mercy of an accidental acquaintance, Tatyana offers him to play along with her in a play for Sophia Ivanovna and gets his consent.
Reviews of the play "The Old Maid" with Churikova in the title role indicate that the actress perfectly conveyed the whole gamut of feelings of her heroine: it was embarrassment, perseverance, self-irony, and fear of failure. Many viewers write that they watched with interest the development of events in this episode: the duet Churikova - Mikhailov was a model of acting.
Acting Trio
For any theater, the play “The Old Maid”, which is prescribed in the repertoire, means that the troupe consists of actors with a high level of professionalism.
Confirmation of this is the excellent teamwork of the trios of Churikov, Mikhailov, Vasiliev (or Sharko). In it, everyone leads his party in such a way that it is an equal partnership performance, and not the solo number of one of them.
Even if you have not seen the play “The Old Maid” with Churikova, Mikhailov and Vasilyeva, reviews about it can quite convey the atmosphere of home comfort and mutual care that the actors managed to create.
I would like to talk about Tatyana Vasilyeva’s game especially. This actress is diverse and very accurately conveys the essence of the role that she played on the screen and on the stage. It would seem, how can one reveal the character of a heroine who is almost always in a wheelchair? Vasilyeva succeeded, despite the fact that she had only the possibility of using gestures and intonation: in the film "Come see me" there is the opportunity to see in close-ups the expression of the eyes of the actress. And it becomes clear why the hero of Oleg Yankovsky, with all his irony, could not resist the soft influence of this view.
Meeting and acquaintance
So, the hero crosses the threshold of the house, which is the "kingdom of women." The first thing he does is phone his young passion to warn her of being late and explain his reason. Of course, this is the standard phrase “I'm in the meeting.” The girl was not so stupid: she called back to the number from which the call had been made (her phone was with a caller). Another Tatyana picked up the phone, and after a few sentences her face began to change, reflecting the complex game of thought. Inna Churikova in this episode showed all the shades of emotions that an intelligent lady could experience, whose main interlocutors were books by classics, including Dickens.
About obscene elements
About acting Churikova, Mikhailov and Vasilyeva in the play "The Old Maid" reviews regarding this point are mixed. In particular, some viewers reproach Inna Mikhailovna for a single utterance of an obscene word. However, let's try to look at this episode from a different perspective: the actress pronounces this word as if she is reading it in a classic literary text.
That is, it was said in an even voice, without an energy component, as if the heroine did not completely understand what she was repeating after the interlocutor on the other end of the telephone receiver.
Perhaps this was not vulgarity, as some spectators tried to present Churikova’s game, but a consciously applied acting technique.
Forgotten world
The world, in which the hero of A. Mikhailov unexpectedly finds himself, returns him to the atmosphere of long-forgotten relations, where the main thing is the quiet joy of the opportunity to do something for a loved one. In the play "The Old Maid", the duration of which is about three hours, nothing is said about the life of the protagonist until his appearance in this apartment.
However, it can be assumed, based on the traits of his character, that once in his life there were events that completely changed her course and look at her. Having established certain boundaries that he does not allow anyone to cross, Igor periodically entertains himself with non-binding affair. That is why he was so attracted by communication with these two women: it is warm, calm with them and you can be yourself.
It was this atmosphere that the actors managed to convey so well that the audience felt it, as evidenced by the reviews.
Behind the soul
The further development of events, you probably know or guess what will happen on New Year's Eve ...
Even if you watched the film, you will certainly find an opportunity to visit the play "The Old Maid". In the Queen of the Moscow region, he will go on February 11 at the Central House of Music named after M.I. Kalinin.
And on March 24, 2019, viewers will be able to see their favorite artists in the Vyborgsky recreation center on Komissar Smirnov Street, 15. The nearest metro stop is Lenin Square in St. Petersburg. The play "The Old Maid", according to reviews, is one of those productions that are called "departing nature."