Talk:Maria Britneva

Recent changes

I'm opening up a section here to discuss the recent changes by an IP and subsequently by Kit hesketh harvey. One of the problems with these is that they break formatting (ref tags, bolding, etc.) That can be fixed, but the reference breakage includes addition of new references that are not sufficiently identified for other editors to fix the reference. Please identify these new references fully.

Some of the changes amount to name-dropping. This is unencyclopaedic. It is undisputed that she had many friends. Lists of their names don't add to the article. Other facts would make good additions - such as that Williams was the godfather of her other daughter - but only with a reliable source. Someone who knew her well not only knows such facts, but is in a good position to find the necessary source so that it can be added.

Others concern the veracity of John Lahr's New Yorker article (and his book). It is asserted that many of Lady St Just's friends objected to the article. Yet there are supporting sources for much of what he writes. The position that the article is biased would be greatly strengthened with sources on these protests; can any such references be found? Especially any references denying the truthfulness of any specific points? These would have to be reliable sources, such as books that I did not find in my research when I wrote the article, other periodical articles, a correction or even letters published by the New Yorker in subsequent issues; unpublished personal communications cannot be used, especially not to outweigh an article in a respected magazine like that.

--and that's the overview. Yngvadottir (talk) 21:34, 22 January 2016 (UTC)

Personal life: Tennessee Williams - Britneva

I question a sentence in the Personal Life: Tennessee Williams section.

In 1955, Williams said after Britneva’s opening night performance as Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire, in a production in Florida, "I thought I had written a good play till I saw her in it."

This is sourced in the footnotes as appearing on Page 87 of the book, The World of Tennessee Williams by Richard Freeman Leavitt and W. Kenneth Holditch, which it does, but that doesn't mean it's accurate. (Both the authors are deceased so they can't be asked.)

1. Maria Britneva appeared as Blanche in 1955 but it was in New York City. Tallulah Bankhead appeared as Blanche in 1956 in Florida. So, it was likely the quote was in relation to Bankhead. 2. It's mentioned that Leavitt met Williams for the first time in 1956, a year after Britneva's performance (in NYC). This would line up with the Bankhead performance. 3. While Britneva's performance did receive a negative review (by Brooks Atkinson in the New York Times), there are no other extant reviews of Britneva's performance. Williams does not mention it anywhere. However, there are multiple references to Bankhead's performances both in Florida and in New York City.

So, my conclusion is that Leavitt and Holditch remembered the incident incorrectly and that Williams' comment was regarding Bankhead's performance, not Britneva's. JohnAKeith (talk) 00:38, 19 July 2026 (UTC)