Liya Akhedzhakova – My Grandson Veniamin
Liya AKHEDZHAKOVA in
“My Grandson Veniamin”
Directed by Marfa Gorvits, recipient of the Golden Mask Theatre Award
“My Grandson Veniamin” is a remarkably poignant story about family relationships.
The main heroine, Esfir (Akhhedzhakova), lives immersed in memories of the past, holding tightly to the traditions and customs of her childhood. Strong-willed and accustomed to deciding everything for others, she unsuccessfully tries to find a “proper” bride for her son. One day, she takes a decisive step — traveling to her hometown of Bobruisk and bringing back a young beauty from a respectable family. It would seem that everything is finally falling into place. Yet her carefully constructed plan of building a new world according to old rules begins to collapse. Her son resists the arranged marriage, and the young bride turns out to be far from who she appeared to be…
The classic conflict between “fathers” and “children” is woven into a story that is both humorous and deeply touching — a story about maternal love, capable of creating something beautiful, yet also of destroying everything around it.
The play was written in the 1980s by the now world-renowned author Lyudmila Ulitskaya, yet the questions it raises remain timeless. The brilliant performances of true masters of the stage — Liya Akhedzhakova and Alexandra Islenteva — together with a young and vibrant creative team, are unlikely to leave anyone indifferent.
Also starring:
- Aleksandra Islentyeva, Honored Artist of Russia
- Egor Trukhin
- Olga Grudyanina
In 1812, Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, retreating from Moscow, famously reflected: “From the sublime to the ridiculous is but one step.” The story of the great Russian actress Liya Akhedzhakova gives this phrase an entirely new meaning. Once known for her comic, charming, and endearingly awkward roles — the eternal “Verochka” — Liya Medzhidovna, under the pressure of circumstances, has transformed into a truly great tragic actress. Consciously, she has become a voice of conscience, almost standing alone in protest, refusing to allow complacency or forgetfulness about what is happening to the country and to all of us connected to it.
For any city with a Russian-speaking community, it is an honor and a privilege to host Liya Akhedzhakova on tour. For our cultural life, it is also a rare opportunity to experience a beautifully directed and superbly performed production that speaks to eternal — and at the same time deeply contemporary — human concerns.
