Faina

It is the year 1915. Defying her parents’ objections, 20-year-old budding actress, Faina Feldman leaves her home town for Moscow determined to make her mark in the theatre. Her passion for the theatre had begun at the age of 14 after seeing a performance of Chekhov’s THE CHERRY ORCHARD (Faina was to adopt the name of Ranevskaya, the play’s protagonist as a pseudonym, eventually it became her official surname). Faina finds the capital in total chaos and a state of tension. The people have turned against the Tsar and his family, blaming him for the Russian Army’s disastrous performance in the opening months of the First World War. Faina is unfazed, however, and, focusing only on her career, she soon makes her mark in her chosen profession, forging new friendships and gaining the admiration and support of her drama teachers. 

Her parents emigrate in 1917, but Faina decides to stay on in Russia to continue pursuing her career, and it is not long before she is invited to perform in theatres in other Soviet cities including Kerch, Rostov-on-Don, Crimea, Baku, Arkhangelsk and Smolensk. Faina’s determination to succeed is unwavering despite the horrific and life-threatening events of the Russian Revolution and, later, the Second World War. How can a young actress survive such traumas? How can the theatre itself survive? Faina’s life story is about believing in oneself and the pursuit of one’s dreams – it is a story of ups and downs, big loves, but big losses too. This private and personal side of Faina Ranevskaya’s life was practically unknown, indeed it was only after her death in 1984 that the full panoply of her extraordinary life came to be known, revealing her as one of the most popular, successful and critically acclaimed actresses in the Soviet Union.