The play "The Lonely Mocker": reviews, features and cast

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Extraordinary, talented and lonely… Today she is called the soul of a bygone era. The 120th anniversary of the great actress, genius Faina Ranevskaya, in 2016 was marked by a dramatic comedy based on the aphorisms of the actress, the popularity of which surpassed her film works. In The Lonely Mocker, directed by Lev Shimelov, the viewer sees the queen of episodic roles in her Moscow apartment. Visitors visit her, and in the dialogue maintained with them, the viewer hears a witty verbal sparring.

Plot of the play

"The Lonely Mocker" are fragments taken from the life of Ranevskaya. The performance intertwined the events that took place in the last year of the life of a beautiful actress and person, with her unique jokes, which were not invented by the authors of the dramatic comedy, but taken from books and memories of Faina Georgievna.

That is why there is every reason to call her a co-author of this performance. The place of events taking place in the play is Ranevskaya's Moscow apartment, where the authorsplays invite audiences. Throughout the performance, Faina Ranevskaya is different. The viewer sees her vulnerable, with tears in her eyes, and in a moment - a proud and beautiful person in her loneliness. In the description for the play "The Lonely Mocker" it is noted that this is a dramatic comedy. It literally means laughter through tears. And if the viewer went through this state during the performance, it means that everything is in order with his soul.

Premier performance

Premier performances were held in 2014 in many Russian cities. Among them are the cities of Siberia and the Urals, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Vladimir. In Israel, the performance was played in 2015. In the year of the actress's anniversary, the artists brought a gift to the audience in Murmansk - the play "The Lonely Mocker". The dramatic comedy was presented to the audience of Chelyabinsk and Arkhangelsk, and in the spring of 2017 the performance was shown in the B altic States. The audience expressed their sincere gratitude to the excellent production and the play of the artists in the reviews of the play "The Lonely Mocker".

The role of Ranevskaya was performed by Olga Miropolskaya, a wonderful St. Petersburg actress. She looks like Faina Ranevskaya both externally, in voice, and in internal content. Even their names are a bit similar. Living alone, Ranevskaya turned to herself - Fanya. The actress who played her is called Lyalya by her friends and colleagues.

Cast

Wonderful cast of the theater. Moscow City Council plays in the play. This is Olga Miropolskaya, Lilia Volkova, Honored Artist of Russia ZoyaBuryak, People's Artist of Russia Alexander Pashutin and Natalia Lyzhina.

Miropolskaya admits that she got the role by accident. Once she failed screen tests for the series dedicated to Ranevskaya, and posted the remaining pictures in the image on social networks, from where they fell into the hands of the producer of The Lonely Mocker. When she was offered the role, she went to Ranevskaya's grave. There, the actress felt something unusual … When she returned, she said that she received a blessing for this role.

Honored Artist of Russia Vadim Romanov plays the accountant of the theater where Ranevskaya works. He enters her house, brings a salary, and at the same time tells fresh gossip, in return taking away the thoughts of the great actress about them. He needs to know what she will say about this, what - about that … He is the one who constantly spreads the opinions and statements of Ranevskaya from mouth to mouth. Perhaps, thanks to the character of Vadim Romanov, Faina Georgievna's humorous quotes spread all over the world.

Mir Ranevskaya

Dramatic comedy shows the viewer the amazing world of Faina Ranevskaya. Actress Olga Miropolskaya conveys on stage what Ranevskaya lives and feels. The viewer reveals her experiences and actions. And the audience share their experiences in the reviews of the play "The Lonely Mocker". Sometimes the hall explodes with laughter, and sometimes during the performance there is a ringing silence after the monologues of the actress. There was no need for the authors to introduce something of their own into the performance or to introduce their own reprises intostatements of the great Ranevskaya. Olga Miropolskaya speaks the language and words of Ranevskaya. What is her phrase in the play about "damn upbringing": "I can't stand when men are sitting."

Cynicism Covering Loneliness

The brilliant and talented Faina Ranevskaya was still lonely. Colleagues often complained about her ironic and sarcastic nature. Perhaps she looked like a cynical person, but it was only a defense, and behind the cynicism there was pain, despair, loneliness. In fact, it was a subtle and vulnerable nature.

And those who were the targets of her jokes were often unaware that this was more of a defensive demeanor. Ranevskaya did not prevaricate, choosing expressions, she told her opponent what she thought about him. Sometimes funny things happened, and their description sounded simply anecdotal, which raised doubts about their plausibility. But, knowing about the cool disposition of Faina Georgievna, one could assume that the stories are actually true.

Ranevskaya's night notes talk about how hard it was for her in her loneliness, she wrote about the wasted days of her useless life. Having a wonderful sense of humor, she covered herself with it, looked like a completely different person - light and cheerful. After the performance, littered with flowers, she lamented: "So much love, but there is no one to go to the pharmacy!".

The popularity of a smart woman

The play "The Lonely Mocker" is a recollection of vivid images, Ranevskaya's funny anecdotes, and the most tragic life moments. About this intheir reviews of the play "The Lonely Mocker" say the audience. Ranevskaya was a popular person, but she suffered from this popularity, and the comedy in her life had a certain tragic connotation. Her wise eyes, if you look into them, reflected sadness and sorrow.

Listening once again to compliments about her talent, Ranevskaya wrote in her diaries that she was very unhappy in this life with all her talents. Faina Georgievna was a very smart woman. And thanks to her mind, she could "filter out" insincere acquaintances, buddies, friends. And often the best interlocutor after this "filtration" for Ranevskaya was herself.

Dedication performance

This performance is special for the theater troupe. “Each time before going on stage, my heart strives to jump out of my chest. But as soon as you go out to the audience, the excitement passes. The responsibility to the audience, to yourself, to Ranevskaya is too great,” says Olga Miropolskaya, the lead actress. The actors play the performance in one breath as a dedication, as admiration, as an emotional gift to the great Russian actress. Actually, they play fragments of the life she wrote - the life of the lonely mocker Faina Ranevskaya. In general, the fate of Ranevskaya gave little cause for laughter: she lived for 87 years, she remained almost completely alone, and she herself was the reason for this.

Reviews for the play

Breviews of the play "The Lonely Mocker" the audience share their impressions of the play. Many people say that after leaving the hall they have the feeling that they were visiting Faina Georgievna, sat at the table with her. The door of her apartment quietly closed behind them, and they went home impressed by the meeting.

The performance is a small fraction of what could be told about Faina Ranevskaya. But this play, which lasts two hours, told a lot about a great and amazing woman. This is how the audience of St. Petersburg described the play "The Lonely Mocker" in the reviews. This is the essence of dramatic comedy.