Sergey Makovetsky in the tragicomedy Dad

Sergei Makovetsky in the poignant tragicomedy “DAD”

The play “DAD” is a true one-man triumph for Sergei Makovetsky.

Israeli audiences remember and love the actor for his brilliant performances in the plays Paper Marriage and Moonlight, Honeymoon, as well as in the autobiographical program Coincidental Encounters, and for his many acclaimed film roles. This time, on stage, he masterfully reveals an even more complex and subtle facet of the human soul, moving from harsh self-irony and aristocratic pride to poignant, almost childlike vulnerability. You will see the beloved actor in an entirely new light…

At the heart of the plot is an astonishingly realistic, profound story that keeps the audience in constant suspense and is close and understandable to absolutely everyone. The protagonist, André, is 80 years old, and his familiar world is beginning to slip rapidly away. Who was he in the past—a dancer or an engineer? Does he live in Paris or London? And why do the people closest to him suddenly seem like strangers?

Constantly losing sight of his beloved watch, he desperately tries to maintain control over his own mind. But no matter how fiercely his consciousness rebels, blurring the line between reality and fantasy, André is firmly convinced that he is still a strong man and will be able to stand up for what is right.

Playing opposite Sergei Makovetsky as his daughter Anne is the brilliant Maria Ryshchenkova, one of the most outstanding actresses of theater and cinema. Known for her profound screen performances, in this production she reveals herself as a powerful dramatic theater actress. Her character is torn between her love for a father retreating deeper into his illness and her attempts to preserve her own life. Maria Ryshchenkova’s extraordinarily subtle psychological performance—her looks and intonations—creates on stage that very ringing silence in which the audience feels the full depth and fragility of family bonds.

Director Vladimir Beldiyan, a talented student of the legendary master Rimas Tuminas, has created an astonishing, meticulously calibrated psychological space on stage. He does not simply retell the plot, but offers the audience a unique opportunity to look inside a fading consciousness and see the world through the distorted lens of the protagonist, where seemingly irrational reactions become the consequence of a changing reality.

The music by Faustus Latėnas, an outstanding Lithuanian composer whose iconic theatrical melodies invariably fill productions with profound drama, lends this story a special, hypnotic sound. Latėnas’s poignant, fragile, and haunting musical themes perfectly underscore the hero’s vanishing memories, sending shivers down the spine and holding the audience spellbound until the very end.

The production is based on the legendary play by Florian Zeller, a renowned star of contemporary drama. For this work, he was awarded France’s highest theater honor—the Molière Award.

The play has conquered the stages of Paris, London, New York, Sydney, Hong Kong, and many other countries with phenomenal success—and soon this powerful story will be presented in Israel.

Cast: Ivan Brovin, Oleg Rebrov, Natalia Ushakova, Polina Sinilnikova.