The "Dynasty" exhibition in honor of Vadim Shverubovich's 125th birthday opened in Moscow

The connecting thread of the past with the present was clearly shown by the exhibition "Dynasty". It is dedicated to one of the creators of the Moscow Art Theater's staging system. Correspondent Zakhar Akopov told "Izvestia" about which exhibits illustrated a living family history and became guides in a special era.

The voice of the great actor of the Moscow Art Theater Vasily Kachalov was known by every theater-goer in Moscow at the beginning of the 20th century. Today, his archival recordings resound within the walls of the Stanislavsky House Museum, blurring the boundaries between the past and the present.

The "Dynasty" project is dedicated to the 125th anniversary of the birth of Vadim Shverubovich, the legendary creator of the staged part of the Moscow Art Theater and the son of Vasily Kachalov. However, the exhibition is broader than the fate of one or even several people — it is an exploration of the unique theatrical DNA of an entire family, where personal history is inseparable from the entire modern Russian culture. Litovtseva, Shverubovich, Bartoshevich, Lyubimov — they are all the heroes of a century-long chronicle.

"Vadim Vasilyevich never called his parents dad and mom. He always called them Vasya and Nina. "Vasya, I'm healthy. Have you received my emails? I kiss you hard. Your Dima," said Marfa Bubnova, curator of the exhibition and deputy director of the Moscow Art Theater Museum.

A gramophone with records, family and stage photographs, personal letters, theatrical costumes — many of these objects reveal in a new way the dynasty, to which special attention has always been focused.

Each exhibit is like a puzzle that complements the overall picture of the exhibition. Among them, one medallion stands out, which was presented to Vasily Kachalov by Gordon Craig after the production of "Hamlet". And this is despite the fact that the director was not completely satisfied with the actor's work, as he considered him too Russian.

For theater critic Boris Lyubimov, these are not just museum showcases, but a part of life in which meeting with a great dynasty turned into an acquaintance with his future father-in-law and wife.

"We both didn't look at each other very carefully, because I was staring at Vadim Vasilyevich, who for me was both a hero of two wars, and on the other hand, the author of a wonderful book about the Art Theater," said Boris Lyubimov, president of the Shchepkin Higher Theater School.

This exhibition has already been called family and home, and there is a reason for this comparison: the interiors of the exhibition partly repeat the famous villa of the dynasty, which became the home of Olga Lyubimova, the granddaughter of Vadim Shverubovich.

"When my grandfather Vadim Vasilyevich died, I was still very young, I had no memories of him. There are only memories of people who adored him and were constantly in this house. I remember with a special feeling Alexey Vladimirovich Bartoshevich, who recently left and, of course, would have been the absolute hero of this exhibition," said Olga Lyubimova, Minister of Culture of Russia.

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The exhibited archives are literally saturated with theatrical traditions that underlie the education of new generations of artists.

"These are not only some exhibits, photographs, letters, but even with students we studied on these materials of the Kachalov dynasty. And they study, live, lose and are saturated with this important spirit," said Pavel Vashchilin, director of the Moscow Art Theater Museum, Honored Artist of Russia.

Immerse yourself in the atmosphere, view rare sketches and hear the living history of the Moscow Art Theater at Leontievsky Lane — the exhibition at the Stanislavsky House Museum awaits the audience until October 18.