Silver Ball 15.01.1996 (1996)

Angelina Stepanova and Nikolai Erdman, a novel in letters.

Nikolai Erdman was strikingly famous, he was not even 25 years old when he wrote his first play "The Mandate", staged at the Meyerhold Theater, the performance was performed 350 times.

He met Angelina Stepanova during the period of his incredible fame, when he and his wife first came to visit the young actress of the Moscow Art Theater and her husband.

When their romance began, Angelina Iosifovna immediately realized that she would leave her husband, and met with Nikolai Robertovich secretly.

Secrecy has always been one of the hallmarks of her character, very few people in the theater knew about their affair.

In 1933, Erdman was arrested on the set of the film"Funny Guys".

Angelina was very shocked by what was happening, she was well aware of what time reigned in the country, but still came to Abel Enukidze with a request for a meeting with Nikolai, and he gave her permission.

The meeting took place in the Lubyanka in the presence of the guards and lasted only a few minutes.

Then Erdman was sent to Yeniseysk.

Angelina Iosifovna visited him only once, in August 1934 during her vacation, and the rest of the time they corresponded.

Having achieved the transfer of Nikolai Erdman to Tomsk, Angelina Stepanova decided to end this relationship and cut off the correspondence.

They met again many years later, when everyone had their own life long ago.

However, their correspondence survived and was published as a separate book.

In the preparation of the program, the Soviet newsreel footage, excerpts of the film "Funny Guys" (1934, directed by G. V. Alexandrov), the performance of the Satire Theater "Suicide" based on the second play by N. Erdman, TV plays with the participation of Angelina Stepanova "Anna Karenina", "Mary Stuart", "Dear Liar"were used.