The Father

A non dancing blip!!! Mrs W and I went into town to The Tricycle Theater - one of our favourite theaters, to see "The Father" by Florian Zeller. A brilliant play, it's won three Mollier Awards including Best Play 2014. A challenging role for any actor but Christopher Hampton rose (or descended) to the occasion. Clare Skinner (the mother in Outnumbered) played her part of the desperate, heartbroken, caring daughter with brilliant simplicity. Totally engrossing and authentic.

It was a tough one to watch, nothing unusual happened, there was no major drama, this was all so normal for millions of families (approaching 50 million worldwide). Yet as the story unfolded the early comic nature of events became tragic through repetition. The staging allowed one to consider whether we the audience were mere observers or whether we were experiencing the same disorientation as the main character.

I admit I shed a tear at the end. Mrs W suffered even when talking about it in the bar afterwards. 

This is  Christopher Hampton who ventured into the bar afterwards to meet and greet, where he was promptly mobbed. I couldn't hear what he was explaining but he had a very attentive audience. 

So a wonderful night out, a fabulous play - but be warned, it's not fantasy it's very real.