- Can you tell us about the filming of the new part of the What Men Talk About franchise?

Leonid Barats: We have directors - Fluza Farkhshatova, and cameramen - Antoine Vivas-Denisov. If I had read their names on the poster, I would have decided that this is not a movie for everyone, the action of which takes place in an abandoned French, or better, a Norwegian town. About the fate of a Venezuelan teenager who is brought from this European town to the suburbs of Ufa. But in fact, it's not like that! The protagonists there are Slava, Kamil and Sasha, and we are brought on a train going to St. Petersburg, and then to the city on the Neva itself. Filmed in the summer, white nights. So that there were no people around, they started at two or three in the morning. Due to the shift in the schedule on July 18, when we celebrated my birthday, the state was strange and each glass acted three times. My girlfriend, a close friend, came to me, there were comrades from St. Petersburg and, of course, the Quartet I. Noted on the landing stage. Slava, Kamil and Sasha saved money and bought a gift for three. We walked around St. Petersburg, they say: "Turn away, we'll buy you a present." And they brought a chic denim jacket!

- And guessed the size?

Barats: Slava knows the important dates for me, phone numbers better than me, remembers the size of my legs, neck and head. Not because he loves me so much, it's just that he's good with numbers and he likes to buy. True, the jacket was still too small ...

Camille Larin: The next day, the whole delegation went to change it. By the way, we rarely manage to give gifts on the same day. At one time there was a system: we gave a gift to one person on the eve of the birthday of the one whose birthday is next. Here Slavka was born in September, but we gave him a gift in October - before Sasha's birthday. And Sasha - already in November, before mine.

Rostislav and Leonid - friends from the first grade (1988, Odessa)

- Why such a complex scheme?

Rostislav Khait: Over the years, everyone became too lazy to look for gifts, but moral obligations remained. You think: Kamil's birthday is coming soon, and Sasha hasn't been given anything yet - a disgrace. By the way, recently Camille has become more attentive to birthdays. And to ours, which goes without saying, and others began to write down and remind: guys, we need to congratulate this one.

Larin: I just love to give.

Khait: I almost never celebrate, I celebrated only 25 years, then 30 and for some reason 38 - and that's it. And since I don’t put down, then they rarely give me something. But Camille is stable. Last time it was a scarf.

Alexander Demidov: For the last two or three years I have been giving Slava big expensive family underpants. If there is no family, then at least there will be cowards. And in October he promised to give me a scarf. Maybe also a hint...

Alexander Demidov (Ryazan, 1983)

- Isn't it the one that Camille gave him a month earlier?

Demidov: Exactly. Before the New Year, he approached again: “San, every day work, work, I’m sorry that I don’t have time to give a scarf.” And now it's February in the yard, and still no scarf. Well, nothing, I somehow go through the winter and spring without him, and in the summer, you see, he will appear with me.

- Donkey Eeyore was more lucky with gifts ...

Demidov: But in recent years, the guys tried. When the fifth iPhone came out, it was given as a gift. True, it turned out to be Chinese and broke in a week ... And last year they directly asked what I needed. My wife just needed a laptop, and they gave me an expensive laptop of the latest model - my wife uses it with pleasure.

Larin: It's great that now they often directly ask the birthday man what he wants. My friend Lesha Kortnev and I had anniversaries in 2016, and the guys asked what kind of surprise I want to receive. You know, there are things that you really want to have, but it's stupid to buy yourself, and the best among them is a drum set! I chose it myself, then I waited a year for special cymbals to be brought, and now I happily drum in the country. And when I got married three and a half years ago, we wrote a “wish list”, they bought us almost all of it, and we use everything with pleasure, only we can’t unpack the home theater. But it also came in handy - like a big stand. But they didn’t give a big stand!

Camille Larin (1980). Post No. 1 at the Eternal Flame, Volgograd

- Over the thirty years spent together, you probably already learned to guess in advance who will do what?

Larin: Sometimes I really know in advance who will do what. I understand: if now, for example, Lesha called me and said “a”, then Slavka will definitely call and say “b”.

- Can you still surprise, make laugh? Not the audience - there is, of course, no doubt, but each other?

Barats: Certainly. Here Sasha regularly surprises us and makes us laugh with Jewish pogroms.

- How pogroms?!

Demidov: About five years ago, after the Election Day performance, when everyone gathered in the dressing room, I went out and turned off the light. And everyone is changing clothes, someone is without pants, someone is in a T-shirt, someone is trying to get into a boot with his foot - and suddenly pitch darkness. I close the door, start pounding on it and shouting: “Reptiles, Jews, let you die!” It was very funny, but the guys were really scared in the first minute. In the second, they already began to laugh, and then they themselves asked: “Sasha, well, when will the Jewish pogrom be?” I answered: "Today will not be - I'm not in the mood." I waited for them to relax, and then, ah-ah ... And just a week ago, I amused them in a different way. I bought a teddy bear suit in one fashion store - pants and a jacket. And he came to the rehearsal. The guys asked which grocery store I distribute flyers, and I told them: “You are old conservative grandfathers who don’t understand anything about modern fashion!”

Leonid Barats and friend of the Quartet I Alexey Kortnev at the party in honor of the twentieth anniversary of the Quartet I Theater

- The fabulist Krylov breathed in: a clumsy bear came to the rehearsal of the Quartet ... By the way, have you ever regretted the name? Still, it imposes some limitations. Someone would want to leave, but you can’t change your name to “Trio I” or “Duet I”: “Quartet I” is already a well-known brand ...

Barats: We thought at some point that it imposes, but it turned out that nothing like that. When the name "Quartet I" became a brand, it ceased to mean that there would be exactly four artists on stage. Few will notice the logical inconsistency. One of our first performances was at Kinotavr. Matvey Ganapolsky announced us like this: “Now four young artists will come here, and it’s not for nothing that there are four of them, because they are called “I”!” And no one except us noticed that Ganapolsky said a very strange thing.

Khait: Our people don't care about numbers.

Barats: When someone wanted to leave - and such moments happened in the fate of our team - we, of course, regretted this, and not about the discrepancy between the number of artists on stage and the name.

- Who wanted to leave?

Barats: This idea has crossed many minds at various times. First, our director Seryozha Petreykov - there are actually five of us, just four on stage, that's why we are the Quartet. He is older than us and went through a midlife crisis before anyone else. It seemed to him that everything was bad and uninteresting, and he was going to close everything. By blackmail and shouting, they convinced him not to do this, dragged him into work, created a feeling of being needed - not formally, but in deed, a person feels this. Then it started: either Sasha Demidov sang, then someone's leg, someone's arm, someone's soul broke ... There were moments when the centrifugal force became stronger than the centripetal.

Leonid Barats, Rostislav Khait, chief director of the theater Sergey Petreykov and Alexander Demidov (2008)

- And when did you have such a period?

Barats: And I didn't have it. When the midlife crisis began (and it goes on like this for me), being inscribed in the Quartet I system, on the contrary, became a salvation, because the rest of the systems burst one after another.

Demidov: My departure from the "I Quartet" was a gallant foolishness. My character is violent - I am the most careless and impulsive of the Quartet. We have Camille working with anger, and I've been doing the same thing lately. I’ll post a post on social networks, under it eighty percent of people talk about the Quartet and about me personally, how wonderful we are, but there will be a reptile who will write that I have an alcoholic mug and it’s not clear why they put me on stage! Here I remind myself: work with anger, calm down, there is no point in starting. In his youth, he could not and did not want to say such words to himself and did not listen when others said them. And now I am happy that this did not lead to a final break. I slammed the door, and then changed my mind, knocked on it again - and they opened it for me.

This was about fifteen years ago. We have been waiting for ten years for popularity to come, but she was in no hurry, we all chatted and shook. My desire to leave was spiced with alcohol and the certainty that I was the best and, therefore, I could do something myself. I have been doing music for seven years, released three albums, last year I became the “poet of the year” in the “Lyric” nomination according to the Union of Writers. But this did not give such popularity and attention as what I do in the Quartet. From time to time I arrange creative evenings called “Quartet I”, and people come to listen to me as a serious poet and musician. But there are much fewer of them than the audience at the performances of the Quartet I. Well, don't be afraid. It's just that one part of me is more popular than the other.

"Quartet I" in the play "La Comedy-1" (2000)

- When creating the theater, did you think about how many years you will last?

Demidov: We all burned with the same idea, but lived for the same day. For ten years, and even more so for twenty-five, they did not think. In fact, it's scary that everything flew by so quickly, and these anniversaries do not add joy. Yes, they give status and a feeling that you are doing well, but sadness comes with it: we are no longer so young, not so close, often not so frank and, perhaps, not so bold in creativity.

In 1993, we thought that literally tomorrow, at least in a month, we would become popular, and in another two we would be rich. We really wanted to eat and we really wanted to like it. First to the girls in the hostel, then to the girls on the street, then to the girls after the performance. Finding out that two months have passed, and we still have not become popular, we thought: well, a couple more months, and then everything will definitely be fine. Our young enthusiasm, recklessness and self-confidence lasted for ten or twelve years. And then sad thoughts began to visit: so many performances have been played, but there are no full halls, popularity and money. And this is where she came. Hard-earned, earned. And now, feeling like we got a little bit into history with a couple of performances and a couple of films, we can’t understand: how did it all happen, how did we endure it all, saved it? After all, any course that completes studies at a theater university wants to become a theater, but few succeed. And all of a sudden, for four guys from different cities, social groups, different nationalities, it suddenly happens once - and it turns out. And seriously and for a long time! After all, there are no other theaters in Russia that would have worked for so many years with the same cast.

Barats: It's funny, because everyone predicted us that we would quickly fall apart. Both psychologists say and practice shows that in order for a team to exist for a long time, one person is needed who will keep everything, and we do not have a clearly defined leader. Five pretty strong men, each with his own understanding of who, what and how should do. All this is a struggle, ambitions, fears... But, sorry for the pathos, dedication turned out to be greater than our fears and ambitions.

On the set of the film “What Men Talk About. Continuation"

- Have relations in the team changed in recent years?

Barats: For the better. We have become smarter, ambitions are more satisfied, and fears of being offended in our five have decreased due to the experience and understanding that everyone is in their place.

Khait: We have become more mature. You know, in this regard, the words of Sergei Dovlatov are close to me. His wife asked if he loved her, and Dovlatov replied: "What kind of love is this - this is not love, but fate." So, we already have fate. Previously, there was a passionate attitude towards each other: enthusiasm, admiration and the same strong disappointments. Now it is calmer, but with the feeling that they are already inextricably linked, that this is fate.

All photos provided by the press service of the theater "Quartet I"

In March forRussian On the screens there was a picture shot based on the sensational and already a year-long success of the performance “Radio Day” by “Quartet I”. After the premiere, the correspondent Jewish. enmet with one of its founders - Leonid Barats.

"Radio Day" finally approved the positions achieved by the humorous group "Quartet I" over the 15 years of its existence. Their jokes, rather subtle and non-vulgar, did not take root on the air of radio and television for a long time, running counter to the dominance of "format" humor. Having wandered for some time on the waves of radio stations, where the Quartet I took its first steps, performing with original reprises, the team found itself on the theater stage, which, as you know, at all times was the main reflector of the morality and customs of society.

Of course, recently one could repeatedly hear unflattering remarks from critics about what is "served" to the public in the theater. But, as history shows, it is during stagnation that innovators appear, designed to bring a fresh stream to art and bring it to a new level. The spokesmen for ideas that have long accumulated in society, as a rule, have a hard time fighting decay, given that they are often simply ahead of their time and remain misunderstood. Many went through this without seeing the results of their labors, and in this sense, the I Quartet was lucky. Recognition came to the team already 10 years after its creation, and their work is valued on merit and is very popular.

Without noticing it themselves and not trying to encrypt a deep subtext in their work, they make comedy what no one has been able to do for a long time - they reflect the public consciousness, the political and economic situation of our time, conveying it accurately and witty. Although unconsciously, as they themselves say, “out of personal preference”, they use in their productions the music of modern bands, whose work can be called, if not timeless, then at least meaningful and highlighting individuality.

It remains to be hoped that over time the work of the Quartet I will develop “according to the laws of wine fermentation”, because now they have a great responsibility on their shoulders to the viewer, who has already known the taste of high-quality creativity and does not want to return to the “format feeder”. The correspondent of the site met with one of the founders of the "Quartet I" - Leonid Barats.

Leonid, in the play "Radio Day" the situation is reproduced, which is not visible to the average listener. What radio stations did you watch this on?

At first we worked at Europe Plus, literally for a month, then we were kicked out of there for the dissonance of some of our reprises: the management simply did not understand what was at stake, it seemed to them that it was all somehow dissonant. Then they went to Our Radio. More precisely, they found Misha (Kozyreva), and he already brought us to Our Radio. Three years ago, we switched to Silver Rain, with which we “mothballed” relations eight months ago.

- And why radio? Are you planning on TV?

We decided to take on the production of a play about radio, because we believe that there is still preserved that romantic atmosphere of individual freedom, which has long disappeared on television. And on the "blue screens", to be honest, we still do not burn.

In your repertoire you use the music of bands whose work can be called classics of the Russian rock and roll scene. Is it related to the concept of your creativity?

No, this is due solely to personal preferences and preferences.

- Leonid, tell us about your life before moving to Moscow.

I was born in Odessa on Bazarnaya street. After a while, I went to the garden, which is not typical of almost any child. Then ten years went to school and the same amount of school. I did well in the humanities...when I studied, of course. On the whole, pretty mediocre. I don’t have triples, one triple in chemistry was simply corrected by the compassionate mother of one of my classmates. So I was definitely not a straight A student. After school, I went to Moscow to enter GITIS.

- Parents were not afraid to let go to Moscow?

Of course they were afraid. Still, they went to Israel, to America. At that moment, the third wave was just going on. And we were also covered with our heads, almost the whole family left, and I was even somehow pulled out there by a crazy wave, but then I was washed back to my native shore. I have a green card, it's not clear why I need it. Here, in fact, after GITIS, Rostislav Khait and Sergey Petreykov and I created the Quartet I, and since then my fate has become public. What to tell, everyone knows everything, my every step is known (with a smile and mock pathos).

With the tradition of humor, you, as a hereditary Odessa citizen, are all right ... Did your family adhere to Jewish traditions?

No, ours didn't. My grandparents spoke Yiddish. Mom understands everything, speaks a little. I myself do not know Yiddish, except for a few expressions that are customary for an Odessa Jew. They did not go to synagogues, there was no talk of teaching any Jewish subjects at all. We are absolutely secular people, we lived in a secular state, non-religious, in general, Russians. Jewish blood, of course, is felt in some inclinations and features that are characteristic of a Jew, physical and moral.

I am proud of our nation, of the people living in Israel and defending their state, but I don't want to go there. Not because I'm afraid or something else, I just feel good here, I consider this place my homeland. Here I grew up and spent my entire conscious life, here is my home, and there is my national history.

- The traditional question, have you encountered anti-Semitism?

Yes, sure. I will now tell the most egregious case: once in a pioneer camp I hit a man’s face, being eight years old myself, and he was seven years old, for which he bit me on the hand. Then they took me from the pioneer camp. This is such an injustice.

But seriously, there were no obvious manifestations in my address. There was a state policy, but it didn’t particularly hurt me. The only thing that hurt was when an American delegation came to our school in the eighth grade, and then there was supposed to be a return visit from the children. I was successfully elected as a candidate by a majority vote of the class, but another person went, because Jews were not allowed to go abroad. And the girl, who was half Jewish, was allowed in ... Half (laughs)- though for this she had to take the Russian surname of her mother. In fact, in my life I have encountered more rudeness and aggression, but this had nothing to do with my nationality. Moreover, there are many Jews in Odessa, and if something happened, there would be many people who would stand up for their own.

In general, if we talk about what is happening in the country now, I believe that we are looking for enemies both outside and inside. Naturally, the first enemies are national minorities, which include Jews. Who the Jews are, few understand and know of those people who shout “beat the Jews”, but they need an enemy, and they draw some kind of image for themselves. I believe that this is cultivated by the state: on the one hand, they stand at the opening of synagogues, demonstrating their loyalty to the Jews and not only to the Jews - synagogues, mosques, and so on; on the other hand, they close their eyes to the manifestations of fascism. The Nashi party freely exists in the country, which is also, to some extent, a manifestation of fascism. In addition, in my opinion, xenophobia, the search for the enemy have one vector: we don’t go abroad to beat the Yankees, which means we need to throw out this force somewhere, and it splashes out on the streets. In this sense, the state, I repeat, is pursuing an ambiguous policy.

- What do you think about the introduction of teaching the basics of Orthodoxy in schools?

I believe that such a subject has a right to exist. There just has to be an alternative. That is, it should be voluntary: if a child wants to go to study the basics of Orthodox culture, he goes, but if he does not want to, he should have an alternative: go to some secular lesson or go to a class where he will be taught Judaism, or Islam or Buddhism. We have a secular state, and this is possible, but only on a voluntary basis. And I am extremely negative about the mandatory attendance of such classes, even because it is simply illegal.

- Leonid, in conclusion, what can we expect from Quartet I in the future?

In the future, I think, there will be another comedic step in the cinema and an obligatory film adaptation of the play “Faster Than Rabbits”.

Members of this troupe have long become something like a brand of domestic humor. Witty and unlike anyone else, they are very popular, and performances and films with the participation of the "Quartet I" according to the scripts that they themselves write, instantly understand the quotes and become winged.

The beginning of the creative path

Not everyone knows that in fact the “Quartet I” (films with their participation will be described separately) does not consist of four people, but of five: in addition to Leonid and Rostislav, these are Alexander Demidov, Kamil Larin and Sergey Petreykov (the last one listed is artistic director).

But it all started in Odessa. Or rather, when Rostislav Khait (better known as Lesha and Slava) back in 1978 became classmates in the very first year of study at the Odessa school. However, they became friends with other members of the future Quartet only a decade later, while studying at GITIS.

It's no secret that the theatrical spectator had previously learned the answer to the question: "Who are the I Quartet?" Films with their participation (a list of all film works can be seen below) gained immense popularity, but the guys are more known as a theater troupe. But the first steps to success were, as usually happens, uncertain and difficult. Tickets sold poorly, and the proceeds were not enough to cover the cost of staging, renting premises, etc. When it became very tight, one of its members, Sergei Petreykov, saved the troupe from “death”. He rented out his apartment on Bolshaya Nikitskaya to foreign tenants, and donated the rent to the development of the future theater ($7,000 was a huge amount by those standards). Of course, this money was eventually returned to him.

First successes

In 1995, the play "La Comedy" saw the light - the first project, after which regular viewers appeared. Three years later, the guys took up stage improvisations called "Acting Games". In 1999, "La Comedy 2" was released - the first performance, the income from which exceeded the cost of staging. But the real success came in 2001. It was this year that the guys launched their new performance - Radio Day, which became their hallmark. This was followed by a sequel - "Election Day", then "Faster than Rabbits", as well as the first work in the cinema ...

Films with the participation of "Quartet I"

The list opens with the film Election Day. In fact, the guys have long matured the desire to create films. And then one day a St. Petersburg businessman came to them with a desire to make a film out of the play "Election Day", because he believed that this was the most relevant topic for the viewer. Having become not only a sponsor, but also a producer, Nikolai Ulyanov (that's the name of the businessman) called him to the director's chair. But in the end, the film's rental did not bring any profit to the investor. And the Quartet participants themselves were dissatisfied with the film, arguing that it was too similar to a performance, and they offered to film the play Faster Than Rabbits, they say, it is more cinematic. But the decisive word was not theirs. This was followed by a sequel - "Radio Day", this time more successful. And although the plot of the sequel is in no way connected with the first film, our beloved Quartet I plays the main role. Films with their participation (the list can be seen below) after that began to win an increasing audience.

"Election Day" (2007)

This, in the author's definition of "force majeure", a comedy begins with a phone call in the apartment of the director of the Moscow radio station "Like Radio". An oligarch named Emmanuil Gedeonovich “asked” to send the radio station staff to one of the regions of the Volga region to promote Igor Tsaplin, a candidate for governor. The guys will have to face the local mafia, Cossacks, police and soldiers, as well as pressure from the local governor. Despite all the problems, our heroes get out of any situation with humor and enviable professionalism. As a result, Igor Tsaplin gains an overwhelming majority of votes in the elections, but it turns out that the elections were won in the wrong area at all. The film ends with the oligarch sending in a new candidate.

"Radio Day" (2008)

Starring - all the same "Quartet I". Films with their participation (the list began to grow almost every year) are very diverse and not similar to the previous ones.

Now this is a story about a crazy night in the life of the radio station "Like Radio". An emergency happened: when there were only a few minutes left before the live broadcast, it suddenly turns out that the theme of the live marathon was intercepted by competitors. However, it is impossible to cancel the marathon, because each employee may be out of work, and besides, the leading rock musicians of the country are invited to the action. The children must come up with a new theme.

In the meantime, a boat with animals from the local regional circus on board set sail from the city of Nakhodka - on tour to Japan. Suddenly, in the open sea, the boat stalls. It turns out that the crew member "to the left" drained half the fuel tank. And the remaining fuel should have been enough, but only the second crew member (the ship's captain) drained half the tank even earlier ...

Thanks to the creative efforts of the staff of "Like Radio", the boat "KCR 12" turned into a huge liner in distress in the Sea of ​​Japan "Doctor of Science Professor Schwarzengold" with the rarest animals on board. And of course, all this is presented exclusively live on the radio station. While the guys are asking “Brigitte Bardot herself” to comment on the situation, the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the Ministry of Defense are joining the fight for the animal gene pool ...

"What Men Talk About" (2010)

Four friends go in their car from Moscow, through Kyiv, to Odessa, to the concert of the rock group "Bi-2". During the trip, friends discuss the pressing issues that concern middle-aged men: about love and friendship, about lies, about transferring grandmothers across the road, and even about the conventions of modern art ... As a result, the guys, despite the accident, get to the concert.

"What Else Men Talk About" (2011)

December 31, Moscow. Sasha and some wealthy woman did not pass each other by cars. Having quarreled, the woman sends two impressive defenders to "deal" with Lesha. Alexander did the only thing he could - called for help from his friends. And now, being locked up in Sasha's office (they are waiting for them on the street), the friends again talk about life, share who wanted to become who in childhood and who achieved what in life. And they are also trying to figure out the question that torments everyone: what to do with beloved, and sometimes unbearable women?

"Faster Than Bunnies" (2013)

Two friends wake up in a strange room - a house consisting of rooms and corridors, and without windows and doors. Trying to find out what happened yesterday, friends meet people who are busy with the same problem. The company is also concerned about unexpected finds: a memorial table and a gravestone. Everyone frantically remembers how they got here? And finally, where is "here"? Isn't it time to think about what they will leave behind?

"Wonderland" (2015)

This time the heroes are from different parts of the country. Here is a family from the provinces who had a chance to get to the "Field of Miracles", and an employee of the teaching staff, experiencing his first day of work, and drinking Valera, who is faced with a choice: save the world from or fly away with aliens to another planet, and young lovers, introducing their parents, as well as four passengers who cannot fly to Moscow in any way ...

"Election Day 2" (2016)

Igor Vladimirovich Tsaplin is re-elected for a third term. Having done nothing for the region, he wonders: is it all his? In addition, the advertised bridge across the Volga collapsed right during its grand opening. And this is just before the election! A team of PR specialists-political technologists from Moscow takes over the case ...

What's next?

It is worth noting one detail regarding the name "Quartet I": the films with their participation (the list has been listed) have long gone beyond ordinary comedy - they have a place for drama, melodrama, and even philosophy. They amaze their audience with every new project. And once again, after watching a play or a movie, the question arises: “What, in fact, next? How else will they surprise? That's what fans have to find out.

Leonid Grigorievich Barats. Born on July 18, 1971 in Odessa. Russian actor, director, screenwriter. One of the founders of the comic theater "Quartet I".

Father - Grigory Isaakovich Barats, journalist.

Mother - Zoya Isaevna Barats, a kindergarten methodologist.

Was the only child in the family. He received the name Leonid in honor of his great-grandfather, despite the fact that initially his parents wanted to call him Alexei. According to him, he still cannot come to terms with his real name.

He attended a music school in piano. In high school I became interested in jazz.

In 1978, he studied at one of the Odessa schools together with, who later became his colleague in the Quartet I. Together they attended the school theater club, performed in amateur performances. Also together - Barats and Khait - went after school to Moscow to enter a theater university. And both did.

“After leaving school, there were three ways in front of me. I could go to America - it was 1988, and a lot of people around were leaving: relatives, friends, acquaintances ... I could stay in Odessa and go to university - to the philological faculty or the faculty of foreign languages But by this time I had already decided that I would become an actor. Accordingly, I had to go to Moscow to enter GITIS, "he said.

In 1993 he graduated from the variety faculty of GITIS, artistic director V. Korovin.

In the first year, Leonid met with, and Sergei Petreykov. After graduating from GITIS, they formed a comic theater "Quartet I". In the same 1993, on the stage of GITIS, "Quartet I" staged his debut performance - "These are just stamps." The performance was a great success.

In 2001, "Quartet I" staged the play "Radio Day", the script for which was written by Leonid Barats. He also, together with Rostislav Khait and Sergey Petreykov, wrote the script for the production of Election Day.

With his performances, the Quartet I toured all over Russia and many CIS countries.

He got his first experience in cinema back in 1990, when he studied at GITIS - he starred in an episode of the film “Hunting for a Pimp”. He played several episodic roles in the early 2000s.

The actor became widely known in 2007, when the film “Election Day” (a film adaptation of the performance of the same name “Quartet I”) was released, in which he played Lesha, a creative political strategist.

Leonid Barats in the film "Election Day"

Other film projects of Quartet I also enjoyed great success with the audience: Radio Day, What Men Talk About, What Men Still Talk About, Election Day-2.

In 2014, the comedy “Faster Than Rabbits” was released on the screens of the country - also a project of the Quartet I. The script for the film was written by Leonid Barats and Rostislav Khait.

In December 2015, the comedy Wonderland was released on the big screens (and on TV in early 2017), written by Leonid Barats, Rostislav Khait, Sergey Petreykov. The entire famous four of the Quartet I starred in the tape.

He starred in music videos by Svetlana Roerich, Valery Syutkin and the Bravo group, the Combination and Agatha Christie groups.

The actor is known for his active social and political position. Opposed to the Russian authorities.

He took part in protests "against the falsification of elections." He spoke out against the so-called. "Law of Dima Yakovlev".

Leonid Barats in the program "Evening Urgant"

Height of Leonid Barats: 166 centimeters.

Personal life of Leonid Barats:

From 1991 to 2015, he was married to actress Anna Kasatkina (known for her role as Anya in the film "Radio Day", the wife of a travel agent in the film "What Men Talk About", Pasha's wife in the film "What Else Men Talk About"). Anna is 3 years older than him. They met while studying at GITIS.

The couple have two daughters: Elizabeth (born 1994) and Eva (born 2003).

In the fall of 2015, it became known that the couple had divorced. At the same time, they continue to work together and maintain a good relationship.

“Our daughters, even after a divorce, as you understand, are still “ours”, and not separately father’s or mother’s. Therefore, I will tell you this: Liza and Eva live with us. Nothing has changed for them in this sense, especially in materially ... I'm trying to somehow smooth out this story with our divorce for them. The children are fine. Yes, and my wife and I didn’t become enemies - we just stopped being spouses, but despite the fact that both of us are emotionally very hard, we try to remain good friends. This is the best way out in our situation - Anna and I work together, "Leonid commented on the divorce.

Among the hobbies of the actor is playing football.

Filmography of Leonid Barats:

1990 - Hunt for a pimp - episode
2002 - Money
2003 - Radio Day (film-play) - Lyosha, DJ
2007 - Election Day - Lesha, political strategist-creative
2008 - Radio Day - Lyosha
2010 - What men are talking about - Lyosha
- Lyosha
2011 - Nonna Grishaeva. "I'm from Odessa, hello!" (documentary)
2013 - Faster than rabbits - Lyosha
2015 - - Levan Gogia
2015 - Election Day-2 - Lyosha

Voiced by Leonid Barats:

2015 - Savva. Warrior Heart (animated) - Monkeys

Directed by Leonid Barats:

2003 - Radio Day (film-play)

Scripts by Leonid Barats:

2007 - Election Day
2008 - Radio Day
2010 - What do men talk about
2011 - What else do men talk about
2013 - Faster than rabbits
2015 - Wonderland
2015 - Ivan Tsarevich and Gray Wolf-3 (animated)
2015 - Election Day-2

Production work by Leonid Barats:

2008 - Radio Day
2010 - What do men talk about
2011 - What else do men talk about
2015 - Election Day-2

Video clips featuring Leonid Barats:

Combination - "Accountant"
Svetlana Roerich - "Hands"
Clementia - "Somewhere Beyond the Seas"
group "Bravo" - "It's dawn outside the window"
group "Agatha Christie" - "Sailor"
group "Agatha Christie" - "Merry World"
group "Bi-2" - "Hipster"
Anton Chekhov - "Good Luck"

Leonid Grigoryevich Barats is from Odessa. He was born in July 1971 in the Jewish family of journalist Grigory Barats and kindergarten teacher Zoya Barats. At first they wanted to name the boy Alexey, but then the parents changed their minds and named him after his great-grandfather - Leonid. Probably, the first name was more suitable for the future artist, because it is Alexei who is called by friends and relatives.

Although the parents of Leonid Barats are not connected with the world of art, they dreamed that their son would choose a creative profession. Or a journalist, like dad, or an artist. And Leonid's beloved grandmother, who worked as an accompanist at the Odessa Opera House, made sure that her grandson received a good musical education. It was she who instilled in the boy a good taste, dedicating to the world of theater, opera and ballet. Leonid Barats attended one of the music schools in Odessa, where he learned to play the piano. At first, he did not really like this occupation, but after getting acquainted with jazz, everything changed.

Leonid Barats not only attended music lessons, but also performed with pleasure on the school stage. He comprehended the acting craft in the theater circle, which operated at his school. And the boy often came to work with his father and got the opportunity to study the journalistic "kitchen" from the inside. This is probably why it was not easy for Leonid, who graduated from school, to decide who he most wants to become - a journalist, artist or musician.

A long-standing friendship - from the 1st grade - with. The guys were not only friends, but also communicated outside the school walls. They attended theatrical circle and performed in amateur performances. At the end of school, friends decided to try to conquer Moscow. They went to the capital and without much difficulty, having behind them the experience of performing on the theater stage, entered GITIS.

"Quartet I"

At GITIS, Leonid Barats and Rostislav Khait met with and. Future artists created their own creative quartet, calling this project "Quartet I". From that moment (1993), the actors are inseparable. They work together on their productions and act as actors themselves. In the same 1993, on the stage of GITIS, "Quartet I" staged his debut performance, called "These are just stamps." The performance was a great success.

In 2001, a new performance appeared, called "Radio Day", the script for which was written by Leonid Barats. The production brought a resounding success to the creative four. In the performance, in addition to the named artists, they played,. All of them after the "Radio Day" woke up famous.

In 2002, Leonid Barats and colleagues continued their successful career climb. Barats, together with Rostislav Khait and Sergey Petreykov, wrote the script for the next production called "Election Day". The cast of this performance remained the same as in the previous project. True, now the focus has shifted more to politics. With these productions, Quartet I, having started performing in the capital, soon went on tour in major cities of Russia, and then in the CIS countries. Success accompanied the artists wherever they appeared.

A cinematic biography of Leonid Barats started in 2008. This year, the play "Radio Day" was filmed. And the next year, the same thing happened with Election Day. The creators and constant participants of the Quartet I played the main roles in both films, which received great interest from the audience and laudatory reviews from critics. And although it was television that brought Leonid Barats and his colleagues most of the fame and fame, Barats himself sincerely believes that playing on the theater stage is more interesting and valuable.

In the 2000s, the artists of the Quartet I filmed their other successful performances. So the pictures “What men talk about” and the continuation - “What else men talk about” appeared.

Leonid Barats can also be seen in the music videos of Svetlana Roerich, and the Bravo group, the Combination and Combination bands. In addition, the voice of Barats is spoken by the characters of some animated films: Reno from the American cartoon "Volt", Darwin from "Pirates. Gang of Losers" and others. Leonid Barats is the author of the script for the famous animated film "Ivan Tsarevich and the Gray Wolf".

In 2014, the comedy Faster Than Rabbits was released on the screens of the country. This is also a Quartet I project. The script for the film was written by Leonid Barats and Rostislav Khait. This is a light and witty comedy about three friends who, in the morning after a stormy night, are trying to figure out where they are and what happened the day before. Leonid Barats played one of the friends, whose name is Lyokha. In addition to him, Alexander Demidov, Kamil Larin, Rostislav Khait, and other famous actors played in the film.

In 2016, a fresh project of Quartet I will be released, in which all the brilliant four starred. The film was called Election Day 2. The artists played the employees of the radio station "Kak would radio", who went as PR people to the elections in the region. They must work for candidate Igor Tsaplin, who suddenly disappears.

Personal life

For a long time, the personal life of Leonid Barats was associated with his wife Anna Kasatkina. Young people met within the walls of GITIS and got married in 1991. Anna played the wife of the hero Pasha in the film What Men Talk About. In 1994, Leonid and Anna had their first daughter, whom they named Elizabeth. Eva was born in 2003.

At the end of 2015, it became known that Leonid Barats and Anna Kasatkina divorced. Together they lived for 24 years. Nevertheless, they continue to work together, and the daughters communicate with both their mother and father.

In his free time, Leonid Barats loves to play the piano and loves football. And he is also known for his critical attitude towards the current government of the country and has repeatedly taken part in protests against some bills.

Filmography

• "Election Day"
• "Radio day"
• "What Men Talk About"
• What else do men talk about?
• "Faster than rabbits"
• "Wonderland"
• "Election Day 2"