PREMIERE ON THE “STUDIO” STAGE
27.04.2026
Adeline Gizatullina is an actress, director, and playwright. As a child, she dreamed of becoming a ballerina. Life circumstances forced her to change her plans, and the girl from Yakutia enrolled at the M.S. Shchepkin Higher Theatre School in Moscow, studying under the People’s Artist of the USSR, V.I. Korshunov. After graduating, she was invited to join Lenkom Theatre, and in 2014 Adeline became part of the First Studio of the Vakhtangov Theatre. Four years later, she officially joined the company.
On the “Studio” stage, she initiated and performed the solo production Miss Nobody from Alabama, which tells the dramatic story of Zelda Sayre, the wife and muse of the famous American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. At her initiative, in collaboration with playwright Nika Simonova and director Leila Abu-al-Kishek, two biographical productions were created for the Simonov Stage: Frida. A Life in Color, about the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, and Nijinsky. The Brilliant Idiot, in which Adeline played the title roles. Among her notable performances on the Vakhtangov stage are Mademoiselle Bourienne in War and Peace and Anitra in Peer Gynt.
After leaving the theatre in 2024, she studied directing at the Moscow Film School, having realized that directing attracted her even more than acting: she enjoys bringing a team together, rehearsing, and creating a unique world on stage herself.
Adeline Gizatullina proposed to the management of the Vakhtangov Theatre the production of her play I Created Audrey Hepburn, which she developed together with renowned Vakhtangov actress, poet, and Honored Artist of Russia Elena Sotnikova.
Adelinа Gizatullina:
“The story emerges from the difficult and contradictory relationship between Audrey Hepburn and her mother, Baroness Ella van Heemstra. The play is based on real events from the life of the legendary actress, but at the center of the narrative is not Audrey herself, but the woman behind her achievements and triumphs.
What is true maternal love? Is it support or expectation? Acceptance or the desire to reshape someone? I ask these questions not as a researcher, but as a director searching for emotional truth in human relationships.
The world knows Audrey Hepburn as an actress and a style icon. But very few people know what she truly dreamed about. I believe this story will resonate not only with women — men, too, will recognize themselves in these characters. I was fascinated by Audrey as a child, and today I admire her as a woman of remarkable purity and kindness.”
The role of Audrey will be played by Anna Chumak, while her mother will be portrayed by the outstanding actress Elena Sotnikova. It is especially meaningful that the premiere of the play will take place on the eve of Elena Sotnikova’s birthday — a beautiful occasion.
