English plays proposed for production. Famous actresses of the USSR then and now (60 photos) Waiting for him

How many girls, looking at the beauties that our cinema is so rich in, dreamed of being at least a little like them. They fell in love with them, they were worshiped, they were idolized! However, in life everything is more complicated... And although now all the actresses say that they are happy with their fate, their happiness is very different. And this is not always the happiness of the family hearth. We decided to see how the first beauties of our cinema live today...

Irina Alferova: “No need for victims!”
Main role: Constance in the film "D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers."

What today: she became the president of the family festival “Faithful Heart”, and is involved in charity work. Acts in plays. She has been married to actor Sergei Martynov for 10 years. There is a daughter, Ksenia, and a grandson.

- Irina, did you have any desire to devote yourself entirely to your family? - I asked the actress.
- No, it's very boring. I will not give this advice to any woman. Even children are proud of you and are drawn to you when you prove yourself!
Then if you don’t have time to do something, they will forgive you. The main thing is that you don’t have to sacrifice anything. We need to come to an agreement. Otherwise, both you and the children will suffer, because you will take negativity out on them.

- Isn’t your husband jealous of work?
- My first husband (Alexander Abdulov - Ed.) was very jealous of me, although he did not always behave in an exemplary manner. We agreed with our second husband that there is no jealousy in our family. Well, sometimes he misses me...
But you still come home, and on this free day you can make up for everything! It is better to live a full life and grab onto everything that is interesting.
Elena Proklova: “I live in harmony”
Main role: Larisa Ivanovna from "Mimino".




What today: art director of the Hermitage, was a member of the working group of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation. TV presenter. Starring in TV series.


About personal: I have been married to businessman Andrey for 19 years. She gave birth to a daughter from him. In my youth I had my first fleeting marriage, in which I gave birth to a daughter.


The second attempt at marriage was also unsuccessful. Proklova’s twin sons died immediately after birth, and grief separated the spouses. “Meeting Andrey changed everything in my life... I need a partnership. And I have it,” says the actress.
Natalya Andreichenko - Mary Poppins in the film "Mary Poppins, Goodbye!", participates in charity, goes to film festivals. Her first husband is composer Maxim Dunaevsky, her second is actor Maximilian Schell, from whom she is divorced today. There are two children.
Natalya Andreichenko: “You can’t fool yourself”
Main role: Mary Poppins in the film "Mary Poppins, Goodbye!"




Participates in charity work and goes to film festivals. Her first husband is composer Maxim Dunaevsky, her second is actor Maximilian Schell, from whom she is divorced today. There are two children.

Andreichenko in real life never strived to resemble the ideal woman:
- You can deceive everyone around you - both children and colleagues. But sooner or later you will still become yourself. And here lies are unacceptable. You can't fool yourself. I already went through something similar in the USA, when they tried to convince me that I needed to change - speak without an accent, play American roles. But then I will become different! Not an American - Broken Natasha. And suddenly it dawned on me that I shouldn’t do this. I am Natasha, Russian. If you like it - good, if you don’t like it - sorry. I decided that I would stay with myself.
Natalya Varley
Main role: Nina in the film "Prisoner of the Caucasus"




In recent years, Natalya Varley left work in cinema - her last film in 2006 was “Wolfhound from the Family of Gray Dogs.”


Today he plays in an enterprise and goes on tour. Single for the last six years. The first husband was the actor Burlyaev. Natalia was courted by the son of the Belgian Defense Minister, Lucien Harmegins. But she chose someone else - the son of Vyacheslav Tikhonov and Nonna Mordyukova (from this marriage she gave birth to her eldest son). The name of the father of the second child is hidden.


For some time she worked at the Okey Theater. Three CDs with her songs and two collections of poems were released. She was involved in dubbing and scoring foreign films and television series. She hosted the program “Household Troubles” on the RTR TV channel.


In the spring of 2009, in a duet with Nikolai Gnatyuk, she took part in the television project “Two Stars”.
Elina Bystritskaya: “You shouldn’t grieve over a man”
Main role: Aksinya in "Quiet Don" by Gerasimov.


What she's doing today: playing at the Maly Theater. Engaged in social work.
Personal life: after 27 years of marriage, she divorced and has been living alone since the late 90s. Have no children.
What did the appearance give?
Alas, beauty is not always a guarantee of success in your profession and personal life. For example, in her youth, Elina Bystritskaya was proud of her fragile figure. But it was her slimness that became an obstacle to her approval for the role of Aksinya. The actress had to gain as much as 15 kg.


In life, her mesmerizing beauty created many problems for her. For example, she was expelled from the Komsomol... for refusing to dance with a young man. Bystritskaya said that “he smells like a village.” Later, without reciprocating the feelings of the director of the Vilnius Theater, she was forced to leave the troupe.


When she reprimanded the government official who was in love with her, she found herself banned from traveling for a long time. Bystritskaya always had a lot of fans, but she only got married in the late 60s to an employee of the translation department of the Ministry of Foreign Trade. After 27 years of married life, she decided to divorce after learning about her husband’s infidelity, and has been alone ever since.


“I realized that divorce began to brew when Nikolai Ivanovich began to actively interfere with my work. I couldn’t allow myself to be controlled... He stopped being interested in everything except the fact that he was the husband of “that same Bystritskaya,” the actress recalled.


- Elina Avraamovna, would you like to arrange your personal life today? - I asked the actress.
- I have male friends with whom I communicate. But I don’t want to have a man in my house. This happens: a man has disappeared from life, and often a woman begins to think that she needs to find happiness rather. Some other guy, or what?


There is no point in grieving over a lost man. This means that your skill, your work, your actions are not for him... You have to work hard to distract yourself after a divorce. We must realize what is given by nature and God.


The main thing for me is to be in demand. I'm always in a fight. My fate is not easy, but it has been successful and will continue to be successful. I also have strength and desire! My life motto: don’t change yourself.
Margarita Terekhova: “Happiness is in children”
Main role: Milady in the film "D"Artagnan and the Three Musketeers."


What she’s doing today: staging plays at her native Mayakovsky Theater.
Personal life: single for the last 20 years. Two children.

What did the appearance give?
Beauty helped her become one of the favorite actresses of the cult director Andrei Tarkovsky - when he accidentally saw Terekhova for the first time, he exclaimed: “What beautiful hair you have, how beautiful you are!” And he invited her to his film “Mirror”.


But my personal life did not work out. Men appeared in her life and quickly disappeared. “Men had only one use - they gave children,” Terekhova once said.

She gave birth to her eldest daughter Anna from the Bulgarian actor Savva Khishimov, after which she broke up with him. She gave her son, whom she gave birth to without a husband, the surname Turaev and said that his father was a certain wealthy Tajik Turaev.
Journalists found director Georgy Gavrilov, who identified himself as the true father of the actress’s son. As a result, the son took the surname Terekhov, and when questioned by journalists, the actress mysteriously replies that this is their family secret, the main thing is that the son knows who his mother is!


"Be happy! Have children, this is the meaning of a woman’s life! And men come and go - God bless them,” says Terekhova.
Natalya Kustinskaya: “Being in love gives me strength”
Main role: Natasha in the film "Three Plus Two".


What's happening today: he doesn't act in films, he's retired.
Personal life: not married.
What did the appearance give?
Kustinskaya always drove men crazy and lived in seething passions. In her youth, she was courted by actor Nikolai Gritsenko and director Roshal. Student director Yuri Chulyukin, having fallen in love with the blonde, tried to seduce her with an invitation to the role.

“On the third day of dating, Chulyukin asked me to marry,” said Kustinskaya
- In general, all my husbands proposed to me on the third day of dating! But I never received the role from Chulyukin. In the comedy “Girls” I wanted to play the cook Tosya. But the artistic council decided that my appearance was too impressive for the role of a cook.


On the set of “Three Plus Two,” Kustinskaya’s budding romance with her partner Evgeny Zharikov was “put out” by the actor’s wife, who arrived on time for the shoot. The author of the film's script, Sergei Mikhalkov, also had his sights set on Kustinskaya, came to her for filming for four days and immediately showed up in her room. But the actress refused the master, who left with the words: “If you change your mind, call.”


- Beauty is both happiness and a challenge. Men betrayed me,” says Kustinskaya. - After my first husband’s betrayal, I immediately filed for divorce. The state of being in love gave me the strength to live. Innokenty Smoktunovsky, Vladimir Naumov, Muslim Magomaev, Alexey Batalov looked after me. But I married Oleg, a Vneshtorg employee.

Much has been written about how Kustinskaya stole her cosmonaut husband Egorov from her friend Fateeva.
“Again, already on the third day of our acquaintance, Egorov proposed marriage to me,” Kustinskaya emphasizes. - But I was then married to Oleg, who, having learned about my affair, tried to poison himself, but the doctors left him.


However, the marriage of Natalia and Oleg broke up. Kustinskaya married an astronaut, whose first betrayal put an end to their marriage.


“I have a difficult fate,” says Kustinskaya. - I buried first my grandson, then my son. Egorov's ex-husband died. I thought I would go crazy from the pain. But I managed and found the strength to live on.
And although the years have taken their toll, I feel attractive. Even today I have a man who gives me strength to live.
Svetlana Svetlichnaya: I never knew how to shoot with my eyes...
Main role: Anna Sergeevna in the comedy "The Diamond Arm"


What's happening today: Starring in documentaries and photo shoots for glossy magazines. Single for more than 10 years.

- You were always surrounded by beautiful men. Is there any secret to attracting the attention of the opposite sex?
- I love handsome men. I loved and will love. But this does not mean at all that if I see a handsome man, I will immediately hang myself around his neck. My eye can see beauty. But in my entire life I have never used feminine tricks to get a man to pay attention to me. I never knew how to shoot with my eyes.


She was the first Soviet actress to be naked on screen. Shyly covering her chest with her hand, Svetlana Svetlichnaya shouted: “It’s not my fault!”, and all the men believed her unconditionally.

Only thanks to her, or rather, her heroine, the fashion for black eyeliner and Chanel perfume appeared. Today Svetlana Svetlichnaya goes out together with the young stylist Ruslan Tatyanin. According to her, it was he who helped her believe in herself again.


- Svetlana Afanasyevna, you are called the first Soviet sex symbol. Are you flattered by this title?
- I treat him calmly. Well, someone wanted to call me that, and for God’s sake. Previously, they didn’t even know such a word - “sex symbol”. Today, alas, everyone has become like that.
Sex symbol is such a shabby concept! It makes me neither hot nor cold. It was much more pleasant to hear that I have a soul without wrinkles. This is something I am proud of and will continue to be proud of for the rest of my days. And all because I’m not evil, I forgive everyone.
I forgave my offenders long ago from the bottom of my heart. I generally can’t hold a grudge against someone for a long time. I always feel sorry for everyone. One day, in the Epiphany frosts, I went to church to get some holy water. An elderly man was sitting there, he was shaking all over from the cold. I got some water, and on the way home I thought that I should at least bring this poor guy some hot tea. And I did it!
I am still proud of my action. When he saw me, he cried and said: “I remember you by your hat.” The poor guy couldn’t believe it for a long time, he kept asking: “Is it you who came back because of me?”
Personal life was not happy. In 1995, she buried her famous husband, Vladimir Ivashov. She experienced lack of money and severe depression.


Two sons and actor friends helped her cope with difficulties. Unfortunately, last year the actress buried one of her sons. Despite all the hardships of life, he does not lose heart
Evgenia Simonova – “I sacrificed little for the sake of work”
Main role: princess in the film "An Ordinary Miracle"


What today:
He acts in films and plays at the Mayakovsky Theater. She admits: she found female happiness with her second husband, director Andrei Eshpai. There is a daughter from her first marriage with Kaidanovsky, and a grandson.

“Well, what should I tell you about this? I’m not a vamp. I’ve never been chosen as a sex symbol, not even at our entrance, not to mention on other scales,” this is how Evgenia Simonova once answered a question about the fact that the public wants to know the secrets of her personal life.

In fact, you don’t want to find out any “secrets,” but there are plenty of “vamps” in Russian cinema, and almost every representative of this class, voluntarily or involuntarily, evokes associations with Teffi’s famous story “The Demonic Woman.”
But who is truly feminine is Simonova’s heroine from Mark Zakharov’s legendary film “An Ordinary Miracle.”


Evgenia Simonova, who was born on June 1, 1955 in Leningrad, unlike many of her fellow actors, is calm about her age.
“Why hide it, if the pictures from which, I hope, viewers remember me, came out more than thirty years ago. So, everyone can guess how old I am,” says Evgenia Simonova. “As for appearance... I’ve never I was incredibly good, so I’m not really worried about the wrinkles that appear.”
Evgenia Simonova became famous throughout the country after Georgy Danelia’s film “Afonya” (1975) was released. Nurse Katya, who sincerely fell in love with the unlucky mechanic Borshchov, became for many a symbol of a real woman who, for all her “quietness,” has great inner strength.
The success of the film was enormous. Fans literally bombarded Evgenia Pavlovna with letters. They admired her, declared their love, offered her hand and heart.
It would seem that Evgenia Simonova should have been dizzy from the all-Union glory that had fallen on her. Not so.
“I never had any illusions about myself,” says the actress. “Now I’m reviewing my old films, it seems that I didn’t act so badly. But then it seemed to me that I did everything badly, I was worried, I cried. At which my mother screamed : “Yes, you need to go to a psychiatrist!” Apparently, all these experiences associated with low self-esteem became a good vaccination against “star fever.”


Evgenia Simonova does not like big words. You won’t hear from her: “I gave up everything for the sake of my profession!” On the contrary, she states: “To be honest, I haven’t sacrificed much for my work.

The most important thing is that she gave birth to and raised two daughters (the eldest daughter, Zoya, is from Simonova’s first husband, actor and director Alexander Kaidanovsky). And for me this has always come first."
Galina Belyaeva: All my children are from my loved ones...
Main role: Olenka in the film “My Affectionate and Gentle Beast”

What today:
He plays in an enterprise and does yoga to maintain his figure.
She has been happily married to businessman Sergei for 15 years, who is five years younger than her. From him she gave birth to a daughter, Anna. (There is a son from his first marriage with director Loteanu and a son from his second, civil, marriage with a doctor.)


It’s rare that an actress dares to have a maximum of two children. Three is a feat that only Demi Moore is capable of in the presence of Bruce Willis.
So, our Russian actress Galina Belyaeva, who played the main roles in the films “My Affectionate and Tender Beast,” “Ah, Vaudeville, Vaudeville...”, “Anna Pavlova,” imagine, she has four children! For this alone one can give a State Prize.

- Usually actresses sacrifice their personal lives in favor of their careers...
- When I want a child, I have one. I don’t even think about a profession. Children are treasures. The more there are, the more you want.
- But it is important that they are from a loved one.
- Certainly. Children should only come from loved ones.
Oh, those “roe deer” eyes...
Emil Loteanu was looking for an actress for the role of Olenka Skvortsova in the film “My Affectionate and Gentle Beast”:
- I need a Russian type of girl. Something between Savelyeva and Samoilova.
Assistants found a 15-year-old dancer at the Voronezh Choreographic School. Loteanu saw her “roe deer” eyes in a black and white photo... and immediately called the girl to Moscow.
Galya Belyaeva's screen tests were terrible. Next to Oleg Yankovsky in front of the camera, she became terribly shy. But the artistic council still approved it.


After the film was released, Belyaeva woke up famous. Olenka Skvortsova loved her on the screen as if it all happened for real.
“When I was fifteen, I had never had a man with whom I would kiss so openly,” the actress recalls.
In fact, she was in love then. Not Oleg Yankovsky, but director Emil Loteanu.
It was a beautiful novel. Soon they got married. Galya moved into his one-room Moscow apartment, where their son was born. He was named after his father - Emil.

- Galina, why did you break up with Loteanu?
- When you get married for the first time, you think it’s forever. Loteanu is my first man. I met an interesting person and fell in love. For me, divorce was a real tragedy. Moreover, they have a common child... And Emil Vladimirovich did not want to get a divorce. Rather, I lacked worldly wisdom.

- How do you manage with so many children?
“Sometimes I’m in despair that I don’t know how to raise them.” They all have character.
-Have you ever wanted to change anything in your life?
- No. In the play “The Islander,” one heroine says: “I’ve been married three times. But I don't regret anything. You have to live to survive everything.” If I didn't have a past life, I wouldn't have a present one. I really value what I have. And I don’t wish anything for myself anymore.
Anastasia Vertinskaya: Laziness is the companion of talented people


What today:
Anastasia Vertinskaya has not acted in films or played in the theater for several years. The actress unexpectedly began cooking in the restaurants of her son, Stepan Mikhalkov. He attends international restaurant business forums and learns from experience.

By the way, she stopped acting when the audience did not see the film “The Master and Margarita” with her in the title role. The actress starred naked in this film, was ill after filming, and then left cinema altogether.

- In recent years, actress Vertinskaya has given the public a few gifts - “Imago”, “The Bremen Town Musicians”, “Mirage, or The Road of the Russian Pierrot”. But the audience's interest in you does not disappear...
- I don’t want to work in the theater as a structure anymore, this stage has been passed. It is interesting to perform enterprise performances if there is a worthy play. But, as a rule, for enterprises they take Western plays, written about twenty years ago: people not from our lives discuss their everyday life. This is not what you want to play. I have no creative plans. I would be glad to name it, but there’s nothing.


- I will never play a killer’s mother or anything like that. Sitting in the frame as a grandmother and knitting is not interesting to me. I was whimsical in choosing roles, and remained so. But I don't see any drama in this. I rather see the drama in the fact that Marina Neyolova and Lena Koreneva - actresses of this level - are not filming.
In 1966, Vertinskaya married Nikita Sergeevich Mikhalkov, later an outstanding actor and film director. In the same year, their son Stepan was born. Their marriage lasted less than four years. Subsequently, Anastasia married a second time - to the singer Alexander Gradsky. But this marriage suffered the same fate. Single since 1980.
- I think the Lord has completely deprived me of this joy - to be happy in marriage. In fact, there are women born for marriage. They can't live without it. I love silence, solitude... If I'm not married, it doesn't mean anything. Loneliness is the highest spiritual state."
- Do you devote a lot of time to the restaurant business?
- My son Stepan takes care of the interior and everything else. I am primarily passionate about the art of cuisine. Especially Russian cuisine, which I remember from my family and the Mikhalkov-Konchalovsky family. Natalya Petrovna Konchalovskaya was a brilliant cook. I study all the time, it's very interesting to me.
- Having crossed the age limit, when a lot has been learned and passed, you began to rush to live? Or, on the contrary, do you exist more measuredly?
- Oddly enough, my activity has increased. When I was young, sleep meant a lot to me. In general, I believe that the companion of talented people is laziness. Since I used to work a lot, for me any day of doing nothing was a colossal happiness. And now I hate these days, so I keep myself busy from morning to evening.

I would like to see my family at the table. So that the grandchildren can run around. This is the result of life, when those who remain come to you. Over time the circle changes.


Friends leave, loved ones too. Life is very filtered by the environment, although I cannot say that there are few people around me. And I really want to see those who surround me at my birthday, so that they all feel comfortable and happy.

(3 women, 3 men)
(A play in two acts.)
Extended version of Halo's play. The events taking place this time are viewed in two perspectives - male and female.

The Soviet Union was a huge country. “From Moscow to the very outskirts, from the southern mountains to the northern seas” there were thousands of kilometers, the best performances were shown only in the largest cities, and everyone wanted to see them. Therefore, the most popular and most interesting to the viewer was filmed and shown on TV. For many, this was the only opportunity to ever “go” to the theater and see great actors.

Titre has made a selection of excellent television versions of the performances. Because our country is still huge, and many of those actors are no longer there.

Once upon a time, matchmakers were in charge of marriage matters. The women were irreplaceable, lively, they knew everything about everyone, they could arrange everything that needed to be done! This play is about the matchmaker Hanuma, her rival Kabato, a merchant who dreams of marrying his daughter to an elderly, bankrupt prince for the sake of his title, and about a daughter in love with her teacher. And all this is happening in pre-revolutionary Tiflis - Tbilisi. With Georgian songs, markets and sulfur baths on the banks of the Kura River.

An ironic detective story based on the play by French playwright R. Thomas. A dead man is discovered in a notary's office, an investigation has begun, and the office's secretary, a woman of indomitable energy, is actively involved in the search for the killer. Excellent plot, masterfully written dialogues. The performance “makes smiles turn on like light bulbs.”

A two-part teleplay based on one of the most poignant works of Sholom Aleichem. This is a performance in letters that Tevye from Anatovka writes to the author. In his correspondence, Tevye shares stories about his poor life with his huge family and what he does to make his daughters happy.

Director: Sergei Evlakhishvili. Cast: Mikhail Ulyanov, Galina Volchek, Sergei Makovetsky.

The film adaptation of Beaumarchais's classic play turned out so great in many ways thanks to the actors who played it. The play ran for 18 years and never lost its popularity. On August 14, 1987, Andrei Mironov, who played Figaro, did not finish the final scene, lost consciousness and died of a stroke two days later.

The great story was staged on the stage of the Moscow Lenin Komsomol Theater in 1981 and immediately and to this day became a hit and an eternal work. The rock opera by composer Alexei Rybnikov with a libretto by Andrei Voznesensky about the love of Ryazanov and Conchita has not left even the most dry and callous indifferent for 35 years.

The sitcom based on Shakespeare's play of the same name was staged at the Sovremennik Theater in 1975 by English director Peter James, and in 1978 it was adapted for television.

The play was staged at the Mossovet Theater back in 1966, and the first performer in the leading role was Faina Ranevskaya. Her performance was amazing, the performance was a huge success, and her role in it became one of Ranevskaya’s favorite roles. In 1975, the role was transferred to Vera Maretskaya, and it was this version that was filmed as a film performance and became the most famous version of the play in the country. Ethel Savage is a wealthy widow whose three children discover that she has founded a foundation that spends money on making people's unusual wishes come true, making them happy. They put her in a mental hospital and want to manage her money themselves. But this is not a tragedy, this is a magnificent comedy.

Director: Leonid Varpakhovsky. Cast: Vera Maretskaya, Tatyana Bestaeva, Irina Kvitinskaya, Konstantin Mikhailov.

TO Screen

Five stories in one performance. “Inspection Order” is about the housing issue, which, as we know from the classics, has spoiled Muscovites. “Robbery” makes fun of materialism, which didn’t really exist then, but how relevant this part is now. “Moscow Serenade” is a comedy musical about love. “Sound Letter” is a short story performed by Alexander Shirvindt. “Sing, swallow, sing...” - a housing oratorio for the housing office with piano, about friendship. The performance of the Moscow Theater of Satire was staged in 1973, and appeared on television in 1974. That's how popular he was.

3.1. Alan Milne "The Road to Dover". Comedy. 6 actors (2 female and 4 male roles). On the road to Dover, those wishing to enter into a second marriage flee to France. Not some are intercepted by the mysterious Mr. Latimer, trying to protect them from making a mistake. Amazing benefit performance of the leading male role (60 years and older).

3.2. Alan Milne "Mr Pym Passes By". Comedy. 7 actors ( 4 female and 3 male roles). An old man appears at the couple’s house and reports that the lady’s first husband is alive. And it doesn’t immediately become clear that the old man was mistaken. Excellent female lead role (over 40 years old).

3.3. Alan Milne "The Romantic Age". Youth comedy. 9 actors (4 female and 5 male roles). Every girl wants to meet a prince, but not everyone understands that the prince also needs to be fed. Romantic female lead (20 years and older).

3.4. Alan Milne "Ariadne". Business comedy. 7 actors (4 female and 3 male roles). Sometimes businessmen want to get a client so much that they are ready to put their own wife under him. But this does not happen to all wives. Main female role (from 30 years old).

3.5. Alan Milne "Belinda". Lyrical comedy. 6 actors (3 female and 3 male roles). Two gentlemen seek the hand of the main character. But a husband who disappeared in the distant past appears. Excellent benefit performance leading female role (over 40 years old).

4. James Barry "Crichton the Magnificent". Comedy. 10 actors (5 female and 5 male roles). The author convincingly proves that there cannot be equality in human society. Some are superior to others either by origin or by ability. A witty, funny, sometimes sad play for the big stage, with beautiful scenery. Main male role (from 35 years old).

5. Jerome K. Jerome "Miss Hobs". Youth comedy. 8 actors (4 female and 4 male roles). The main character is categorically against marriage... but only until the moment a knight on a white horse appears. A very interesting supporting role for an older actress (over 60 years old)

6.1. John Boytnon Priestley « Rakita Grove" 9 actors. (3 female and 6 male roles). Detective comedy. The respectable gentleman turns out to be a counterfeiter, but still manages to escape from the tenacious clutches of the police. Main male role (from 50 years old).

6.2. John Boynton Priestley « Mr Kettle and Mrs Moon" Comedy. 9 actors (3 female and 6 male). The main character tried to escape from the routine life of a small town. It turned out that it is not so easy. Excellent leading female and male roles (from 40 years old).

7. Monk Ferris (pseudonym of Jack Sharkey) « My beautiful monster" Black comedy, aka thriller. 7 actors (5 female and 2 male roles, plus the Guardian). A sweet old lady lives in a mysterious house in which life will not seem like honey to anyone. Benefit leading female role (from 60 years old).

8. Marx Brothers « Butler Did It/Mistletoe Berries/Broadway Story" 6 actors (2 female and 4 male roles). Theatrical detective story with comedy elements. A failed director is rehearsing a detective story. The action takes place in the theater. The actors play both the characters in the play and themselves. One actress begins to blackmail the director, demanding that she give her the main role. An attempt to poison an actress leads to the death of the director. The play is dynamic and tense. Benefit main male role, (50-65 years old).

9. Charles Guilford « Who did it?/Heaven can wait" 11 actors (6 female and 5 male roles). Classic detective. The main character, a detective writer, is killed and he, appearing before Archangel Michael, persuades him to let him go to Earth for twenty-four hours to find the killer. During his life, he had no idea that someone wanted to kill him. As it turns out, there were enough people willing. Benefit main male role, (50-60 years old).

10.1. Eugene O’ Nile « Thirst" 3 actors (1 female and 2 male roles). Melodrama. Three people on a life raft in the middle of a shark-infested ocean. No food, no water, just the scorching sun. The ending is tragic: the raft remains empty. Main female role (35-45 years old). One act.

10.2. Eugene O’ Nile « Recklessness" 4 actors (2 female and 2 male roles). Detective melodrama. The husband finds out that his wife has an affair and kills them both. Main male role (40-50 years old). One act.

10.3. Eugene O’ Nile « Web" 3 actors (1 female and 2 male roles). Melodrama. Pimp, prostitute and thief. Even if the sprouts of love sprout on such a field, everything ends in blood and prison. Main female role (25-30 years old). One act.

11. Carol Lashof "Just What You Deserve". 4 actors (3 female and 1 male role). A modern, original interpretation of Greek tragedies: Orestes and the Three Erinyes/Furies.

12.1. Don Nigro "Gorgons". 2 actresses (60 and older). Tragicomedy. An aging movie star and her eternal rival are forced to star in the same film to regain fame. They succeed with some difficulty, but the ending is tragic: one kills the other with an Oscar statuette that the other has just received.

12.2. Don Nigro "Swedish Cinema". 4 actors (2 female and 2 male roles). Medley from Bergman's films on stage. As they say, “cinema is not for everyone.” Impressive.

12.3. Don Nigro "Machiavelli". 8 actors (4 female and 4 male roles). A tragicomedy with a famous main character. Episodes from life. The text is beyond praise.

12.4. Don Nigro "Paolo and Francesca". 10 actors (5 female and 5 male roles) The story told by Dante, adapted by the author of the play. Regardless of the production, it is one of the best plays I have translated.

12.5. Don Nigro "Don Giovanni". For 6 actors (3 female and three male roles). A play based on Mozart's opera of the same name and about... Don Giovanni. Another variation on the theme of Anna and the Commander. Original and exciting.

12.6. Don Nigro "Blavatsky". Monologue. Life story from the first person. For an older actress.

12.7. Don Nigro "Animal Stories". The number of actors varies greatly. Minimum – 3 female and 2 male roles). An amazing (maybe brilliant) play, consisting of eleven small plays (from one to three actors). They seem to be stories told by animals, but people will probably see themselves in them.

12.8. Don Nigro "Nebuchadnezzar". 3 actors (2 female and 1 male role). A philosophical parable about truth and lies, guilt and innocence. A young woman comes to the house of an old man and his granddaughter, accusing the old man of carrying out savage experiments on people with Mengele during the war. The woman is completely confident in her accusations, but it turns out that she is the daughter of an old man, and the old man seems to convince the woman that he is a victim, like her mother. And when everything seemed to be resolved, the old man suddenly declares that the Nazi doctor is him, and the woman’s mother was his accomplice. Then he retracts his words, so the viewer has to decide for himself where the truth is and where the lie is. An excellent benefit role for an aged (70 years old) actor.

12.9. Don Nigro "Man's Talk"" Collection of one-act plays for two men: “ Gatekeeper": the author's version of the history of writing the main treatise of Taoism by the Chinese sage Lao Tzu; " Relativity" - a conversation between two greats, Albert Einstein and Kurt Gödel; " Memoirs» - conversations between Mark Twain and Ulysses Grant (US President), which led to the writing of the latter’s memoirs;

*12.10.1 Don Nigro "The Beast with Two Backs". 5 actors (2 female and 3 male roles). Probably the play is about sex, but not only about it. Set in Greenwich Village, 1929. The Garden of Eden of free love in Puritan America, with God, Adam, Eve, Lilith and the tempting serpent. A play for serious repertory theater. The main advantage of "The Beast", in addition to the author's skill, is the originality of the heroes.

"The Beast with Two Backs" is the first part of a trilogy about Mary Margaret (in this play - Eve), a young American actress. The other two parts, “Lestrigones” and “God bless you, merry fellows,” are independent, self-sufficient plays.

*12.10.2. Don Nigro "Laestrigones". 6 actors (3 female and 3 male roles).

*12.10.3 Don Nigro "God bless you, merry fellows". 6 actors (2 female and 4 male roles). An English touring troupe that Mary Margaret joins from Hollywood. A bizarre interweaving of stage and reality. Each role, from King Lear to the jester, is written with brilliance. An excellent benefit role for an older actor (over 70 years old). A play for serious repertory theater. The final part of the Mary Margaret trilogy.

13. John Osborne "Look Back in Anger". 5 actors (2 female and 3 male roles). Drama. Translated by order of the publisher.

14. Michael McGivern « Wine and ghosts" 8 actors (4 female and 4 male roles). Black comedy, thriller, just comedy. Ghosts, zombies, family feuds. You won't be bored.

15 . John Ford Noonan "We Sit Well". Two actresses (40-50 years old). A funny and dynamic comedy about how an aristocratic native of New England and a broken southerner met.

16. William Missouri Downs "Good Guy". 4 actors (1 female and 3 male roles). An office comedy based on taking a familiar situation to the point of absurdity: we only notice those we want to see. In this case, the beautiful girl simply does not see the good guy.

17. Rudy Citsera "Main Role". 8 actors (5 female and 3 (two very small) male roles. Comedy. The famous playwright writes plays not only for production, but also in order to cast actresses. And now he enjoys the favor of three, promising them the main role in the play, which, he knows for sure, will never be staged. But by chance, the play has been accepted for production. And with three ladies there will be a tough showdown. And then he meets the fourth, who is ideal for the role in the play accepted for production. So innocent, charming, unselfish... The viewer manages to find out the other side of this lady, but the playwright, it seems, will remain in the dark for a long time.

18. Vin Morreal Jr. "Burglary". 4 actors (2 female and 2 male roles). Despite the title, it's a romantic comedy with a charming burglar protagonist, a beautiful leading lady, and a gripping plot worthy of Sidney Sheldon. Guaranteed audience interest. The play won the Italian drama competition "100 Theaters" and will premiere in 100 theaters throughout Italy on September 19, 2015.

19. Michael Wilmot "Love Hut". 4 actors (1 female, 3 male roles). Comedy. At some point in family life, a desire for certain sexual fantasies arises. This is probably normal, but it is not necessary to implement them on the side. You can do it with your wife. The comedy turned out to be funny. The main role, of course, is female, but men are not in the shadow either.

20. Roger Karshner "Don't say goodbye - I'm not leaving". An elegant comedy for 4 age actors (2 female and 2 male roles). Two American families, men work, women keep house. And at some point the question arises: do we work in order to live, or do we live in order to work? Men, of course, are looking for the answer, but women, of course, cannot stand aside. On the one hand, there is a lot of laughter, on the other hand, the question is really serious.

21. David W. Christner "Sultry Mommies". 7 actors ((3 female and 4 male roles). An original, funny comedy with five roles for older actors (2 female, three male). The main characters, a married couple of 45 years old, have grown up, and they invited their mothers into the house. But mothers are not God’s dandelions and 65 years is not yet evening.

22.1. Peter Yeldham, Donald Churchill "Greetings from Montevideo". 6 actors (3 female and 3 male roles). If a tax inspector comes to you, it’s a disaster, but if two of them, and one of them is fake, it’s already an excellent sitcom.

*22.2. Peter Yeldham, Donald Churchill "Extra Privileges." 7 actors (4 female and 3 male roles). Jim and Colin are long-time friends, work together, and (with their wives, Isobel and Brenda) have been going on vacation to the same place for many years. But suddenly Jim wanted to spend a vacation away from his wives, and he managed to induce Colin to do so. The wives made their vacation plans. In the end, it turned out completely different from what was planned, and it was very funny. The authors maximally filled the play with all sorts of gags that fit well into the outline of the plot.

23.1. Robin Hawdon "Revenge". 2 actors (1 female and 1 male role). Billy Crashaw, MP, businessman, exemplary family man, seems to be doing well. But his first wife has not forgotten about the insult inflicted on her and is making plans for revenge.

23.2. Robin Hawdon "Evening in Provence". 6 actors (3 female and three male roles). An English and Irish couple come on holiday to a rented villa in Provence. But it just so happened that the owners of the villa, the French, were not informed about this, and they come for the same two weeks. Six people in one house is too much, and the French come up with a cunning plan to get rid of the guests. Fortunately, the guests from the islands set themselves up. A witty and dynamic comedy.

24.1. Edward Taylor "Aren't You a Robot?" 6 actors (3 female and 3 male roles) The scientist needs to test the robot. For an unfaithful husband, spend the day with his mistress. When interests coincide, a lot is possible. And then it turns out that a robot competition is planned. And if the English robot-husband has certain shortcomings, then the Japanese robot-wife (yes, the real wife is vacationing in the Caribbean with her lover) is all tip-top. (And the British, comparing theirs with the Japanese, share the same opinion as the Russians: they can’t catch up). A very funny sitcom.

24.2. Edward Taylor "Sinners' Dinner". 6 actors (4 female and 2 male roles). The director of the London office of a multinational company has a problem: an American boss with high moral principles comes to visit. He dismisses subordinates who cohabit and are not legally married without delay. And the director’s partner, bad luck, flatly refuses to pretend to be his wife and leaves with a scandal. Of course, we have to urgently look for a replacement, but everyone refuses, including the director’s pretty employee, who has a rehearsal that evening. Only the visiting housekeeper, who is almost twice her age, agrees. The boss and his wife come to visit, the director and housekeeper receive them, but then a repentant girlfriend and a pretty employee arrive, who decided to help the director out after all. The deception is revealed, but, fortunately, the boss also has his faults. So it all ends to everyone's satisfaction. Very funny.

24.3. Edward Taylor "Portrait of Fear". 5 actors (2 female and 3 male roles). Thriller-detective-horror. This genre is quite rare on the stages of our theaters. A film crew comes to an old house to document the presence of ghosts. But, as it turns out, the group leader has other plans: he needs to get rid of his wife and place the blame on the owner of the house. And his plan would have succeeded... if not for the ghosts. Using fairly simple means, with virtually no special effects, the author manages to maintain incredible tension throughout the entire play. A comparison with Hitchcock in his best films involuntarily suggests itself.

25. Richard Seff "Paris is excluded". 8 actors (5 female and 3 male roles) cute and funny retro comedy. Grandmother and grandfather are going on their first trip to Europe after forty years of marriage, one might say, a second honeymoon, but at the same time they are still “getting used to” each other, so life is full of conflicts that are resolved by children, grandchildren, and close friends. Successful Broadway production.

26. Muriel Resnick "Every Wednesday". 4 actors (2 female and 2 male roles). A funny comedy, the main character of which, the head of a large company, rolls around like cheese in butter. The house is full, and every Wednesday he goes on a business trip: to visit his mistress, who lives in the guest apartment of his company. But one day the new secretary sends both a guest, one of the firm’s partners, and the protagonist’s wife to this apartment. Successful Broadway production.

27. Jeff Gould "Just Sex". 6 actors (3 female and 3 male roles). A comedy in which sex has a place, but the play, perhaps, is about the family relationships of successful married couples who lived for more than ten to fifteen years, during a period when the children grew up and feelings might have dulled.

28.1. Manuel Igrejas "Kitty". Monologue. A first-person life story of a young (twenty-five year old) woman of Portuguese descent living in New York City. When combined with “Lina” they make an interesting pairing.

28.2. Manuel Igrejas "Lina". Monologue. The life story of a Portuguese emigrant to America from the first person. For an older actress. It turns out to be an interesting contrast with Blavatsky if both monologues are performed within the same performance.

29.1. Donald Churchill "Love and Marriage". 3 actors (1 female and two male roles). Melodrama. Problems of three married couples who have lived together for twenty years. The midlife crisis occurs differently in every family. All roles are drawn to the main one.

29.2. Donald Churchill "A Moment of Weakness".3 actors (2 female and 1 male role). Tony and Audrey lived together for twenty-four years, raised two children, separated, tried to start new families, but realized that they were destined for each other. Their twenty-year-old daughter also helps them figure it out. Touching melodrama.

30. Antonia Brancati "I would prefer not to do this". 2 actresses. Drama. The wife and daughter of a famous politician cannot find a common language. A benefit play for an older actress.

31. Jean Kerr "Mary, Mary". 5 actors (2 female and 3 male roles). Lyrical comedy. Bob and Mary divorced, Bob is going to marry a second time, but by chance they meet again. And in the end they understand that they are the ones created for each other. Successful Broadway production.

32. Rick Wheelen "Last Shot". 3 actors (1 female and two male roles). A play about war veterans (sixty years have passed since its end). Romantic tragicomedy. The lives of older people have developed differently, and they themselves are so different. Two excellent benefit performance male roles. The woman is a ghost, the deceased wife of one of the veterans. A lucky find for a playwright.

33. Simon Moss "The Merry Widower". 6 actors (4 female and 2 male roles). Thomas, a drinker and womanizer, moves in with his son and daughter-in-law, a respectable couple, a week before the will is announced. He does not change his habits, but he is tolerated because he is potentially a rich heir. Of course, the calm family life is disrupted by revelry and a series of women. But by nature, Thomas is a good person, always ready to help. And in the end, left without an inheritance, he maintains good relations with his loved ones and finds a lady of his heart who will not leave him in difficult times.

34. Charles Lawrence "Stars Never Age". 7 actors (4 female and 3 male roles, although the role of the maid, one of the main ones, can be played by a man). The famous singer feels that most of all she resembles a squirrel in a wheel. Her image begins to live its own life, crushing her own self. And she finds a way to leave and then return triumphantly.

35. 1. Leah Romeo "Right Place, Right Time". 5 actors (3 female and 2 male roles). An elegant comedy with a slight touch of eroticism, stylized as romance novels, which are built according to the “iron” law: no matter what circumstances a boy and a girl meet, the ending will be happy.

35.2. Leah Romeo "Looking for Love". 4 actors (2 female and 2 male roles). Annie and Matt met on the set of the popular reality show Finding Love, in which a groom chooses a bride from 25 applicants. But now the cameras are turned off, and the fairy tale begins to diverge from reality. And there is also a girl who took second place, remaining very dissatisfied with this, and a producer who is ready to do anything to increase the rating. So a fairy tale can very easily turn into a huge scandal.

36. Richard Warren "Reconciling Differences". 5 actors (3 female and 2 male roles). Criminal psychological melodrama. Martin was going to marry Ginny, with whom he lived for twenty years without formalizing the relationship. Ginny has a twenty-year-old daughter from her first husband, who she says is dead. But the first husband suddenly appears in Martin’s house, because he did not die, but was in prison. Intense action, unexpected ending.

37. 1. Rich Orloff "Tranquility of Home". 6 actors (2 female and 4 male roles). Three escaped prisoners in the house of a respectable American family. Written today, an incredibly funny and at the same time smart comedy about those distant times when rock and roll was just gaining the right to life.

37.2. Rich Orloff "Tycoons". 2 actors. A comedy about the relationship between a self-satisfied, immoral boss and his insecure, highly moral and at the same time eager to serve subordinate. A witty, energetic play about what men want and value, and how they achieve it.

38.1. Norm Foster "Old Acquaintances". 2 actors (1 female and 1 male role). Tragicomedy. He is a writer. She is a housekeeper. He is 62, she is 54, she has been with him for twenty-eight years. And one evening it suddenly turns out that he doesn’t even know her name... A wonderful play with luxurious benefit roles.

38.2. Norm Foster "Looking". 4 actors (2 female and 2 male roles And). There are... no, not two, four loneliness. Everyone is fifty plus or minus, their personal lives are unsettled. Andy asks Val out on a blind date. She takes Matt with her for support, and Val takes Nina with her. A touching romantic comedy about the fact that all ages are submissive to love, and the path to happiness is not a highway.

38.3. Norm Foster "Help Yourself". 6 actors (3 female and 3 male roles). A funny, romantic, slightly sad story of two actors who became self-improvement gurus. Plus sudden death, a detective investigation and an unscrupulous reporter. Mostly funny, but sometimes sad.

*38.4. Norm Foster "Not a Couple." 2 actors (1 female and 1 male role). The love story of Nora and Rudy. They met, got married, separated, met by chance a few years later and realized that no one could find a better half. And comedy, and melodrama, and tragicomedy. A good, dynamic play.

*38.5. Norm Foster "Jonas and Barry". 3 actors (1 female and 2 male roles). A romantic tragicomedy, although it would seem that there could be romance in a boarding house, albeit of the highest category, for the elderly. Barry does not live, but survives. He moved to the boarding house where his daughter works out of indifference to life (his daughter insisted that he be supervised). But Jonas, who lives every day like it’s his last (and for good reason, because the tumor growing in the brain is fatal), moves there to get a wide circle of friends. The old men become bosom friends, and Jonas manages to achieve the seemingly impossible: to awaken Barry’s thirst for life. Two excellent roles for older actors.

39. Jeff Baron "Mother's Day". 6 actors (5 female and 1 male role). "Mother's Day" is a play about everyday life and the complex relationships between family members who see each other constantly. These are conversations in the kitchen about those in the living room. These are looks down on, jealousy, unshakable assumptions and omissions, which are enough in every family. Grandmother rules the family with an iron fist. But one day a riot begins. An amazing benefit female role for an aged (60-75 years old) actress.

40. Martin Wagner "Agent". 2 actors. A successful agent and a failed writer. The second turns out to have dirt on the first, so the agent, pressed against the wall, has no choice but to agree on the release of the book. By the way, it was good, but never read by the agent. But as soon as the writer parted with the incriminating evidence, the agent, on principle, refuses the deal, which promises considerable profit. A dynamic, vital play that does not let go for a second.

41. J. Mortimer, B. Cook “When the cat sleeps.” 6 actors (4 female and 2 male roles). The sisters, Mildred and Ethel, lived with their husbands, George and Humphrey, for twenty-five years. Humphrey's interest in women continued, while George's did. Mildred is going to France with George to rekindle her feelings by spending a second honeymoon there, but George flatly refuses, and as a result, Mildred leaves with her sister. Humphrey takes advantage of the opportunity to spend the evening and night with the girls, persuading George to join him. Late in the evening after the restaurant, all four arrive at George's house... but at some point the noise in the living room wakes up the wives, who did not fly out due to the airport baggage workers' strike and went to bed... The audience will have to laugh a lot.

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  42. 1.Terence Rattigan "Oh Lady" 7 actors (5 female and 2 male roles). Romantic comedy. Olivia Brown's happy life is suddenly disrupted. After a four-year absence, her almost eighteen-year-old son unexpectedly returns from Canada, and she has to explain that she lives with the man she loves, who, however, is not her husband. Olivia's son is a liberal in politics, but not in matters of family and marriage. Moreover, he is a wayward little hypocrite, and even disliked this man. As a result of the antagonism that has arisen, Olivia leaves the luxurious house and moves into a small apartment, where she has to do everything that women living in small apartments do. But after some time, her son falls in love with a girl who is not at all against an invitation to the Savoy. And the young man is ready to forget that visiting the Savoy is contrary to his life principles, if this is the way to the girl’s heart. And then the man returns, both with a solution to the young man’s problems and with a marriage proposal to his mother.
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  *42.2. Terence Rattigan "The Sleeping Prince". 8 actors (4 female and 4 male roles) + servants. 1911 London. The eve of the inauguration (fictional, the real one took place in 1910). The young actress is invited to a late dinner with the regent of the (fictional) Balkan state of Carpathia. The regent naively thinks that everything will end in the morning. This may happen in real life, but Terence Rattigan wrote a fairy tale for adults. And the fairy tale seems to be fascinating, since Laurence Olivier not only played the main role in this play (paired with Vivien Leigh), but starred in the main role of the film, which he himself directed. His on-screen partner was Marilyn Monroe.
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  *42.3. Terence Rattigan "At Separate Tables" A melodrama consisting of two one-act plays, united by the location (a small hotel in the resort town of Bournemouth) and minor characters. The play was made into a film with a brilliant cast, which received seven Oscar nominations, including for best film of the year, two of which won - for the acting of David Niven (false Major Pollock, the main character of "The Seventh Table") and Wendy Hiller (hotelkeeper Miss Cooper, the connecting character of both plays). Nowadays, each one-act act is a full-length play and can be staged separately.
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  *42.3.1. Terence Rattigan "Window Table". 10 actors (7 female and 3 male roles). Anna, the ex-wife of guest John, who also became the lover of the hotel owner, arrives at the hotel. But it soon turns out that John still loves Anna, Anna cannot imagine a future life without John, the hotel owner does not hold on to her lover too much, but the prospects for a new old union are unclear: John and Anna are too different, and they cannot compromise their principles and habits. one does not thirst.
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  *42.3.2. Terence Rattigan « Seventh table" 11 actors (8 female and 3 male roles). The basis of the plot is the mutual, friendly, innocent affection of an aging “major” and an elderly girl, who in their lives had very similar disagreements with their parents. And then the major receives a suspended sentence for indecent behavior (molesting women in a dark cinema hall), which for elderly ladies living in a hotel is the height of sinfulness. If the first one-act is good, then the second is brilliant.
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  *42.4. Terence Rattigan "Harlequinade". 15 actors (5 female and 10 male roles, many very small ones). A play about the theater. The author called it a farce, but perhaps a very touching tragicomedy, written with ardent sympathy for the theater. A troupe led by theater legends Arthur and Edna comes to a provincial town with Romeo and Juliet. And then it turns out that Arthur, according to Romeo’s play, in life is not just a father, but also a grandfather, and also a bigamist. The passions of the play are intertwined with the passions of life. Both sad and funny.
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  *42.5. Terence Rattigan "While the Sun Shines". 7 actors (2 female and 5 male roles). England. 1943 War. To raise morale, you need not just a comedy, but a fairy tale: while the sun is shining, you cannot despair. A young English aristocrat receives leave to marry an English aristocrat. Traveling to London from his place of duty. She meets a Frenchman who convinces her that before getting married, she needs to know passion. He meets an American who evokes this very passion. We add the Duke, the father of an Englishwoman, a gambling lover, a prostitute who adores men and, of course (where would we be without him), an imperturbable butler. The mixture turns out funny and really somewhere fabulous. And most importantly, England manages to break through here: neither the French nor the American manages to lead the bride astray, and she goes down the aisle with whom she intended from the very beginning.
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  *43. Norman Locke "Panic". 3 actors (1 female, 1 male and 1 male/female roles). A middle-aged couple placed in a witness protection program finds themselves in a house without windows or doors, although they have been promised a new, quiet life. They love each other, support each other, are confident that they will cope with all difficulties, but panic is growing. The “bottomless abyss” present in the house and the Grave Digger and Courier appearing one after another (these roles are played by one actor/actress) do not add to the peace of mind. As a result, they are left alone, the darkness thickens, and only love allows them not to lose their heads, not to panic, and to face fate with their heads held high. A very atmospheric, philosophical play that evokes a lot of emotions in the audience. Definitely not a comedy.
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  *44. Derek Benfield "Fly in the ointment" 6 actors (3 female and 3 male roles). Ron Corley, the Environment Minister, breaks into his mistress's house to retrieve incriminating photographs of him. It all happens on Friday afternoon, when Donna usually leaves somewhere. But then she unexpectedly returned. Moreover, Louise, Corley's wife, appeared, who began to follow him, finding women's panties in his jacket pocket, George, his wife's secret admirer, Albert, a pizza delivery man, and even Brenda, a police officer. The result was a dashingly twisted sitcom in which panties, as it turned out, Donna's, played an important role. The only loser seemed to be Corley.
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  *45. Terence Frisby "Like chickens in cabbage soup". 7 actors (3 female and 4 male roles). The life of Robert Danvers, a TV cooking show host, follows a well-worn rut - presentations, tastings, women - and he does not have the slightest desire to change anything. But one day, fate brings him together with Marion, a special young woman, but smart and determined, so change cannot be avoided. Now Robert has to dance to someone else's tune, and not vice versa. It turns out he's funny. And the actions and relationships of other characters, perhaps, cause nothing but laughter. A very funny comedy. The play itself (“There is a Girl in My Soup”) was successfully performed in both England and America, including on Broadway. The film “Hey! There's a girl in my soup."
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  *46.1. Sam Bobrick "Getting Janet Married". 6 actors (3 female and 3 male roles). Janet has everything: a career, a job, an apartment, a car, a dacha. And she doesn’t need a personal life at all. It is not included in the current plans. But Aunt Martha has a different opinion. She also selected a candidate for husband. And it doesn't matter that Brandon is engaged to someone else. For a result-oriented auntie, this is not a hindrance. And she chooses a non-standard way of meeting young people, fortunately there is a suitable person at hand: a blow to the head, he fell, he woke up... no, without a cast, but in Janet’s apartment. Then, to consolidate what has been achieved, a second blow with the same consequences. There was a mistake with the third one, but the process started. And now Janet has nowhere to go but down the aisle. The comedy is very funny, but at the same time vital. Encouraging successful professionals to start a family is really a problem. In the play, it is solved in a non-standard way, which only increases its attractiveness.
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  *46.2. Sam Bobrick "Demon in the Rib". 5 actors (2 female and 3 male roles). Comedy. Miles, a successful businessman who had been married for more than thirty years, decided that a young, beautiful woman was ready to love him not for money, but for his personal merits. Divorced, married, and a few months later they divorced him. Realizing his mistake, he tries to return to his first wife. But it was not there. The gray mouse, who relied on her husband for everything (feeds, drinks, clothes), having received money after a divorce, came to the logical conclusion that an economically independent woman has every right to pay her ex-husband in the same coin, and there is no reason to exchange freedom and independence for old man. The play was written by a man, but his sympathies are clearly on the side of women. And since women make up the majority in the audience, the success of the play is guaranteed.
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  Sam Bobrick's plays have been staged in dozens of countries, but not in the Russian-speaking theater space.

Plays for enterprise projects

Plays for enterprises and private theaters in their artistic merits should not differ from plays performed in repertory and any other theaters. However, the specifics of their distribution require that they also meet certain technical requirements: a limited number of characters, convenience and portability of the scenery, appeal to a wide range of viewers (usually a comedy or lyrical drama). Below is a list of plays that, in the author’s opinion, are most suitable for performance in enterprise projects. Annotations of these plays are also provided. By clicking on the title of the play, you can see its full text on the Internet.

Two characters

A modern comedy dell'arte in the genre of a cheerful farce. Two clowns and clowns act out a play that is born right in front of the public. Pantomime, acrobatics, circus tricks, music, singing, dance, words merge into a single action. Comedy presupposes the ability of actors to improvise, buffoonery and live contact with the public. Performance based on the play “Balagan” (“ Balciul » ) performed by the Theater Group of the National College of Arts Octav Bancila (Iasi, Iasi, Romania) received the "Grand Prix" at the fourth National Comedy Competition in Romania in 2013. 2 male roles, 1 female, interior.

This work combines dramatic, melodramatic and comedic motifs. The bride and groom, successful business people, are forced by the will of circumstances to invite a random person they meet - an already middle-aged man of strange behavior - to be a witness at their wedding. To laugh at the man and have some fun at the same time, a young couple asks him to talk about the women he has loved. The result of the entertainment is quite unexpected. This meeting decisively changes the fate of each of the heroes. Purity of soul, intelligence, sensitivity, and the ability for deep feeling triumph over rationalism and dry practicality.2 male roles, 1 female, interior.

Three friends - single women of the “golden age” - decide to change their fate and find life partners. This warm comedy convinces the viewer that years are not an obstacle to the search for love and happiness. 3 age female roles. Interior.

.The play has 3 characters: a man, a woman and... a dog (to be played by a child or an actress).

A lonely man, a railway worker by profession, finds a puppy, and very quickly this little devoted dog becomes his only joy and consolation. She responds to this concern with selfless love and loyalty.

The day comes when Mikhail must make a choice: either quit his job or get rid of the dog. After painful hesitation, Mikhail decides to kill his friend. A woman kills animals at a veterinary station. She is trying to save the dog, and with it the soul of its owner. The collision of the characters’ two truths, their dissimilar views on the true meaning of life, creates a spring of conflict. The character of the woman – prickly and at times aggressive, but selfless, ready to love and help – gave the name to the play. The play was translated into English and staged in New York.

Director Howard Fishman: American Theater Company is proud to present itself in New York with Valentin Krasnogorov's production of "Dog", the first production of this unique and challenging play on the American stage.

What I admire most about her is her nobility of spirit, and the heart that pulsates so vulnerable within her. Without a doubt, this is a difficult play - prickly and subtle, frightening and ambiguous. But she is courageous enough to admit it all and show it on stage, where we can all recognize the parts of ourselves that we try so hard to hide."

. An evening of three one-act comedies of different genres, paradoxically interpreting the problems of modern marriage. These theatrical short stories can be presented separately or together. 1. " " . The wife persistently calls her husband for a frank conversation. 2 male roles, 1 female. Interior.2.“ ». The husband is looking for the best way to separate from his wife. 2 male roles, 1 female. Interior " ". An ironic presentation of a version of an ideal family consisting of a classic triangle. 2 female roles.

. (see above)

4 characters

. An exploration of modern marriage in the form of a brilliant comedy, poignant and very funny. Critics in Poland, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic noted the "profound meaning and wit of this funny, but wise and cautionary play", its "magnificent construction and sparkling dialogue." A. Shirvindt concluded the preface to this play, published in Modern Drama, with these words: “If you are not afraid of the mirror, hurry to look into it. In Bulgaria, a performance based on this play received a prize “ ». " Plot: A husband and wife invite two of their friends (a man and a woman) to a party. All four are connected by complex relationships, and each is waiting for their fate to be decided: today or never. 2 men and 2 women. Interior.

By the beginning of the performance based on the classic play of the 15th century, the performer of one of the main roles does not appear in the theater. He is urgently replaced by another actor who does not know the role, which leads to numerous tragicomic situations. They are complicated by the difficult personal relationships between the participants in the play. Love, hatred, envy, jealousy, flirting add additional colors to the comic plot. Each participant in the performance simultaneously plays both the character and the actor performing it. 1 female, 3 male roles.

. (see above)

. Strange, funny and dark, a night rehearsal for an unusual performance with an unexpected ending. 2 male roles, 2 female roles, interior.

. An evening of three one-act comedies of different genres, paradoxically interpreting the problems of modern marriage. These theatrical short stories can be presented separately or together. 1. " " . The wife persistently calls her husband for a frank conversation. 2 male roles, 1 female. Interior.2.“ ». The husband is looking for the best way to separate from his wife. 2 male roles, 1 female. Interior " ". An ironic presentation of a version of an ideal family consisting of a classic triangle. 2 female roles.

5 characters

. Comedy. A man suffering from memory loss comes to see a doctor asking for help. The doctor tries to find out the symptoms and causes of the disease, but to no avail: the patient’s answers are so contradictory that it is impossible to get anything useful from him. Fortunately, we manage to call the patient’s wife. She answers all the questions clearly and confidently, but from her statements it follows that the doctor also suffers from memory loss. The situation becomes even more confusing when another woman unexpectedly comes and also declares that she is the wife of the sick man. The situation is becoming completely absurd. The doctor reaches almost madness. This dynamic and funny comedy develops rapidly and lively, ending with an unexpected ending. 3 men, 2 women. Interior.

6 characters

. Farcical sitcom in French style la piece bien faite - "a well-made play." Intricate adulterous situations are intertwined with the passionate desire of the characters to make a career. The play is a great success. 3 men, 3 women, interior.

An excerpt from a review of the play: “This is a wonderful gift for the audience - a balm of humor, smiles, laughter, an excellent remedy for bad mood, blues, pessimism.”

(THIS WEAK TENDER SEX.) . An evening of two one-act musical comedies: « » . And « ». These very dynamic farces take us back to the times of Lesage and Rabelais. The play has not left the theater repertoire for many years in a row. True farce, frivolous, dynamic, grotesque, funny, has become a rare genre. The greater success he enjoys with the public. The music for the play was written by Victor Pleshak. Plot: 1. " ». The old doctor's wife falls in love with a young man. She finds a way to deceive her strict husband. 2. " ». A husband invites a doctor to cure his young and obedient wife of muteness. In vain the doctor tries to dissuade the husband from this intention. Eventually, the doctor restores speech to the wife, and she begins to talk incessantly until she drives her husband crazy.

From a theater review: " The events unfolding on stage, although they take place as if in the 17th century, are very attractive today with their daring humor, wit, and unpredictability of plot twists."

XXI

7 characters

The characters in this paradoxical comedy are women who do not know each other, different in age and dissimilar in character, but by chance find themselves in the same place. In their conversations, disputes, and conflicts, the influence of our turning point on the destinies, views and moral values ​​of the heroines of the play becomes obvious. 6 female, 1 male role. Interior.

"Black comedy. The theater has just played the long-awaited premiere of Shakespeare's Othello. The actors performing the main roles stay after the performance to celebrate this event in a friendly circle. Unfortunately, the holiday is overshadowed by the mysterious death of one of the characters, and there is a suspicion that one of the participants in the play may be involved in this. Either dark or cheerful humor, detective intrigue, sharp plot twists and an unexpected ending capture the viewer's attention until the very last line. 4 male roles, 3 female.

. Comedy. A producer and a group of actors are preparing an enterprise production of an Italian play.3 male, 4 female roles. Interior.

.Comedy with grotesque elements. Her characters of different ages and personalities hope to find their personal happiness in a successful marriage, but the realities of the hasty life of a business and practical XXI centuries force them to say goodbye to the ideals of the past. As a result, they find something completely different from what they expected. The engine of the action is the central character - an energetic middle-aged businesswoman. Funny and, at times, sad, this far from everyday intellectual comedy provides excellent material for performers of all roles. 2 men, 5 (3) women (three roles out of five can be played by one actress).

.This play is a 2017 “remake” of a comedy of the same name, first staged in the 1980s in Leningrad, where it ran for 400 performances, then in another 40 theaters in Russia, as well as in Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany. At the festival in the Czech Republic, the play received three prizes, including the “Prize for Best Drama” and the “Audience Award.” 4 male roles, 3 female, interior.

. Synthesis of melodrama and ironic paradoxical comedy. The play develops two lines of action. The main character of one of them is a director who is looking for a way out of a creative crisis and in a strange way recruits actresses for his new play. The leading heroine in another line of action is a famous artist experiencing her last love. The heroes of the play are in that period of life when it is time to take stock. Despite the sad ending, the play is funny. Lively dialogue, unusual design and variety of colors make this comedy very theatrical. It contains a dozen “solo” roles for actresses of all ages and roles. 2 male roles, 10 female roles, interior.

The main characters of the play (2 men and 1 woman) are approximately 55-60 years old, the female characters range in age from 25 to 55 years. If necessary, female roles may be played by fewer actresses.

Translation from French of three very unusual one-act comedies with elements of the grotesque and absurd.4-13 characters.

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