In Slapovsky’s play “Sisters” Daria Mikhailova and Anastasia Nemolyaeva became related

Writer, playwright and screenwriter Alexei Slapovsky passed away in January 2023 after suffering from pneumonia. And his plays are performed, his novels are read. In “Sisters,” specially written for the “Active Theater,” actresses Daria Mikhailova and Anastasia Nemolyaeva played completely different souls. Their heroines cannot forgive someone else’s love and share one man for many years.

Regina, played by Daria Mikhailova, stole her beloved German from her younger sister Isolde many years ago. A completely prosperous couple lives in Moscow, quarrels over trifles, and Isolde modestly lived through her fifties in a small town. She has a family, children and grandchildren, which Regina and German do not have. Isolde is so correct and absurd, buttoned up with all the buttons, she resembles a roach. Maybe that’s what her students call her behind her back.

At first, when you hear the names Regina, Isolde and Herman, you don’t immediately understand who they are and why they are called that. An illusion of some kind of foreign life arises. Moreover, there is almost nothing on the narrow stage except for a few chairs and a table, most likely painted by Anastasia Nemolyaeva. She is an expert at turning ordinary furniture into something special. Moreover, empty frames on the walls create the illusion of timelessness. Sometimes Herman, and he is a talented artist, as it turns out, but who finds fulfillment in promoting other people’s paintings, turns the “golden square” upside down. The essence of the change does not change. It won’t be black.

Regina intends to go to the hospital, but her husband doesn’t really know anything about it. It is unclear whether she is really sick or if she is playing some kind of game. She tells Herman a story about how you can “surprise before you die.” Regina calls her younger sister, whom she has not seen for seventeen years, to Moscow and asks her for a strange favor. It is important for her that Herman, who suffered a stroke and swallows pills on schedule under her strict guidance, continues to live a comfortable life.

The man for two was played by Alexey Grishin, a student of Oleg Tabakov, who worked in “Tabakerka”, the Theater on Malaya Bronnaya in “Miss Julie” with Andrei Konchalovsky, and now at the Theater. Mossovet, where he played in all Chekhov’s performances of the same Konchalovsky – Treplev, Andrei Prozorov, Vershinin, Gaev. He acts a lot in TV series, and made his debut in “Brother 2”. As if justifying the name “Active Theater”, Alexey Grishin sometimes tries to make contact with the audience, treating them to candy, telling them how he mastered musical instruments, which in his hands make monstrous sounds. And the public is happy about this and reacts vividly.

Alexey Slapovsky wrote an ironic comedy without any special subtexts, and it is based on dialogue. The characters’ discussions about the peculiarities of male and female psychology and the art of being together give it some piquancy. “Sisters” was staged by the founder of the “Active Theater” Marina Pereleshina and Veniamin Skalnik, the husband of Anastasia Nemolyaeva (many legends were told about their acquaintance on the set of the Russian-Japanese “Dreams about Russia”, where he, half-Japanese, worked as a translator).

Anastasia Nemolyaeva is a representative of the famous film dynasty. Her grandfather is director Vladimir Nemolyaev, who studied with Vsevolod Pudovkin. Father Nikolai Nemolyaev is the brother of Svetlana Nemolyaeva and the cinematographer of the films “An Ordinary Miracle”, “Pokrovsky Gate”, “Courier”. Anastasia has been acting since she was 11 years old, she played in “The Courier”, “The Regicide”, “Intergirl”, “Peregon”, everything turned out great. She worked for several years at the Theater on Malaya Bronnaya until she changed her profession and became an artist and a talented furniture decorator. In 2021, after a ten-year pause, she returned to the cinema with the film “Major Thunder: Plague Doctor.” And she began working in the theater with her husband.

Daria Mikhailova is also a star girl, in films from a young age. She was beautiful in “Valentine” by Gleb Panfilov, “Declaration of Love” by Ilya Averbakh, “Starfall” and “Rest Time from Saturday to Monday” by Igor Talankin, “Russian Ragtime” by Sergei Ursulyak, and performances of the Vakhtangov Theater. Like Anastasia Nemolyaeva, she has matured. It’s time for new roles, a thirst to try something new. Daria teaches and staged a one-woman show, “The Prison Doctor,” in which she herself played. Not long ago, she directed the short film “Polina,” where the main role was played by her and Maxim Sukhanov’s daughter Vasilisa Sukhanov.

There is a lot of strength and unspent energy, there is no fear of age, no desire to be forever young. Another time – new opportunities. The duet with Anastasia Nemolyaeva worked out quite well. Actresses arouse interest among the public with their background, although some do not recognize them or no longer know them, and this has its own charm – starting everything from scratch.