My Grandson Benjamin: A Comedy Based on the Play by Lyudmila Ulitskaya in Dubai

My Grandson Benjamin is a strikingly poignant story about family relationships. The main character, Esfir, lives in memories of the past, holding on to the traditions and customs of her childhood. Domineering and used to making decisions for everyone else, she searches in vain for the right bride for her son. One day she takes a bold step: she travels to her hometown of Bobruisk and brings back a young beauty from a “trusted” family. Everything seems to be going well, but her carefully laid plan to build a new world by the old rules suddenly falls apart. Esfir's son resists the arranged marriage, and the bride turns out to be not quite who she seemed…

The classic conflict between “fathers” and “sons” is woven into a funny and touching story about a mother's love, which can both create something beautiful and destroy everything around it.

Written by Lyudmila Ulitskaya in the late 1980s, the story remains just as relevant today: relationships between generations, questions of race and the generosity of the human soul will always resonate with audiences.