Her role in the classification adopted in the theatrical environment in time immemorial is called the "comic old woman." But true lovers of theater and cinema know that she was available for expression in the role of all facets of a human character.
They appreciate everything that has been preserved from her works: films and video recordings of performances. And even a small spectator of the 21st century knows this actress: Anastasia Zueva in the image of a storyteller from classic Soviet movie tales that children love and watch, and now remains in her memory for a long time.
A young lady of peasant origin
She was born in 1896 in the village of Spassky, Tula province. The father of Anastasia Zueva was a skilled craftsman, who owned many professions - from a blacksmith to an engraver, so their family belonged to the well-to-do. The head of the family died early, and his widow quickly married a gendarme officer, so Nastya and her sister were given to her aunt. She was a strict woman of conservative views, therefore, when, after studying at the gymnasium, her niece announced her desire to become an actress, she spoke out sharply against.
But the girl showed character and still went to audition at the School of Dramatic Art. It went well, and Anastasia Zueva was accepted. The outrage of the strict relative was so great that for a while she drove her niece out of the house. Aunt softened only when she found out that Nastya really liked the teachers, and she was accepted, as an exception, for free training.
Actress of the second generation of the Moscow Art Theater
In 1916, Anastasia Zueva entered the 2nd studio of the Moscow Art Theater. It was a famous theater school. Transformed from a private theater school, led by the Moscow Art Theater, three Nikolai - Massalitinov, Alexandrov and Podgorny - it left the brightest mark in the history of the domestic theater. Her repertoire was dominated by modernist plays, and directorial methods were truly innovative. The first production - "The Green Ring" based on the play by Zinaida Gippius - made a splash among the advanced Moscow society.
Those who were classmates of Zueva later formed the core of the troupe of the main Russian theater - the Moscow Art Theater - in its second generation. Olga Androvskaya, Nikolai Batalov, Alexey Gribov, Boris Dobronravov, Boris Livanov, Mark Prudkin, Angelina Stepanova, Alla Tarasova, Mikhail Yanshin - these names not only rattled throughout the country for many decades, but, thanks to the Moscow Art Theater’s foreign tour, were known theatergoers around the world. Anastasia Zueva, despite being an ostentatious actress and infrequently playing the main roles, occupied a worthy place in this series.
Little roles of a big actress
The students began to participate in the Mkhatov productions before the revolution, but officially in the composition of the famous troupe Anastasia Zueva, an actress of a certain role, was credited in 1924. She served in it for 62 years, having survived with the theater times of incredible glory and difficult crisis periods, inevitable for any creative team.
Her works in plays of the classical repertoire - in performances by Ostrovsky, Gorky, Chekhov - aroused the delight of colleagues, critics and spectators. The role of Matryona performed by Zueva from the staging of Tolstoy’s “Sunday” struck Gorky, who turned to her with words of admiration. Later, she played in the famous film adaptation of Mikhail Schweitzer, making her episode one of the most piercing in the film.
Unforgettable Box
There is a role in which the best properties of the artistic gift inherent in Anastasia Zueva were manifested. Starting to work in the Bulgakov staging of Gogol's “Dead Souls”, Anastasia Platonovna proved herself a faithful follower of the Stanislavsky system. In addition to penetrating into the psychology of the "landowner-child", she used her life observations, in her Box - the features of people who are well acquainted with her or accidentally seen on the street. She carefully worked on makeup and clothing, using expressive details.
As a result, a character appeared that caused delight among the audience for half a century. She played this role on the Mkhatov stage until her death, played on the stages of many countries and continents. For many, the Box cannot have a different appearance, a different voice, other gestures. Fortunately, this work of the actress can be enjoyed in the classic 1960 film adaptation.
Episode Star
The film works of the actress are few, but surprisingly expressive. For many directors, and then the audience, there was the only incarnation of an elderly Russian woman - kind or evil, reasonable or absurd, funny or touching - Anastasia Platonovna Zueva. Films with her participation have always become popular, bringing widespread fame to the actress.
Words from her roles went to the people. The phrase of the unforgettable widow Merchutkina: “I am a weak woman, defenseless …” from the short film by Chekhov’s vaudeville “Jubilee” (1944) should have been pronounced, imitating Zuevsky’s voice and facial expressions.
Surprisingly harmonious was the appearance of Zueva in the image of the storyteller in the films of Alexander Rowe. “Fire, water and … copper pipes” (1968), “Barbara Beauty, a long braid” (1969), “Golden Horns” (1972) - the world of these fairy tales would be poorer without an amazing grandmother-storyteller, who became, speaking in modern language brand.
