Liya Akhedzhakova is now moonlighting abroad
Photo: GLOBAL LOOK PRESS
Liya Akhedzhakova recently celebrated her 85th birthday. I celebrated her anniversary at home, in the village of Vnukovo, near Moscow: with my husband and the closest friends of the family. The day before, Liya Medzhidovna returned from a foreign tour. We tell how the trip abroad of the artist Akhedzhakova went.
Why did the artist lose her job in her homeland? For the past few years, Liya Akhedzhakova has regularly given provocative and unpatriotic interviews. They were ignored, even at the Sovremennik Theater, where Liya Medzhidovna had been working since 1977. After the start of the SVO, Akhedzhakova’s unpatriotic interviews continued with new Russophobic tones, and attention was paid to them. Performances with her participation began to demand that not only bloggers active on Telegram channels be removed from the repertoire of the invited theater, but also public figures who wrote about it, including the theater. Liya Medzhidovna has recently performed in two or three performances, since the beginning of 2023 she had one performance, which was closed. But no one from the company fired her, the artist did not go to work, but she continued to receive a salary at the tariff rate. But in the spring of 2023, Akhedzhakova herself wrote a letter of resignation of her own free will: they say that she did not want to receive a salary “just like that.”
But what is it really? The artist’s colleagues say that even then Leah Akhedzhakova was offered to organize a tour of Europe. What happened after the dismissal from the state theater Akhedzhakova herself, after leaving, said in an interview that she was called for the first time in the USA: “Dima Krymov offered to go to the United States with him, where she would introduce me. But I don’t have the strength to do it. Not that age. The artist has no strength or desire to move. And it was enough for a tour of Europe. I just got back recently. Akhedzhakova is traveling with the play “My Grandson Benjamin” based on the play by Lyudmila Ulitskaya. Also in the play are the artists Gleb Puskepalis, Nadezhda Lumpova, Alexandra Islentyeva. They performed in Cyprus, Germany, the Czech Republic and Spain. The rooms are small, the tickets sold well, but not quite. It is impossible to earn a lot of money on such tours, since this is not a one-man show, but she must pay both the actors and the producer, and for renting the hall. To get more from private productions, the artists themselves produce projects and perform productions for one or a maximum of two actors. According to experts, for a traveling performance, the 85-year-old artist receives about 100 thousand rubles. By star standards, this is not much.
Schematic of Akhedzhakova’s performance hall in Geneva. Sold seats are marked in grey.
Leah Medzhidovna complains about her age: they say that she has no strength. However, a big tour is planned for the autumn with the same performance: in Germany, Switzerland and other countries. By the way, the artist has been traveling with this very “Beniamin” since 2016. However, people with difficulty sort through the tickets: they want to look not at the struggling artist, but at the actress, whom many remember and love for her roles in Soviet films, ignoring or “forgetting” their Russophobic attacks.
So, how are ticket sales for the actress’s performances going? For example, November 2023, Geneva, a room for 950 people. Ticket prices range from 59 Swiss francs (6,000 rubles) to 249 Swiss francs (25,000 rubles); the closer to the stage, the more expensive. Sold now – 40% of the room. The artist’s fee does not depend on the number of tickets sold, it is discussed with the organizer in advance.
So, the 85-year-old actress Akhedzhakova will continue her grand tour of Europe in the new theatrical season. Spectators are Russian-speaking residents of the cities where Liya Medzhidovna will entertain the audience with an ancient private performance. In addition, the actress receives a decent pension – about 60 thousand rubles, taking into account the Moscow increase of 30 thousand rubles for the title of People’s Artist.
Was it worth leaving your homeland and traveling the world for a penny? The decision is up to the actress, of course…
