Career
Maria Babanova made her debut in Theodore Komisarjevsky"s theatre in 1919. A year later, she joined Vsevolod Meyerhold"s acting courses. Described as "a small, radiant, energetic actor", Babanova captivated the Moscow public in Meyerhold"s production of The Magnanimous Cuckold (1922).
The three leading players, Igor Ilinsky, Maria Babanova and Vasily Zaichikov were so in harmony they became known collectively as "Il-Ba-Zai".
Babanova was viewed as the first great actress to emerge after the October Revolution. A typical review of her acting read as follows:
Today no one knows her name but tomorrow she will be hailed as the first of a new galaxy of young actresses.
Actresses magically born and reared amidst an arid expanse of wooden constructions, under the piercing gaze of a spotlight on a bare stage - stripped of curtains, wings, of all the mysteries of the old theatre. Actresses who owe that theatre nothing.
Babanova"s triumphs aroused the jealousy of Meyerhold"s wife, Zinaida Reich.
In 1927, Babanova was forced to leave Meyerhold"s troupe, as major female roles went to Reich and she felt underemployed. Although her later career was not as scintillating, Babanova excelled at the Mayakovsky Theatre in the roles of children and adolescents which involved a good deal of crossdressing. She retired from acting in 1975.