The Father by August Strindberg
17th October - 12th November 2006
The Courtyard Theatre, Covent Garden
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“I find the joy of life in the powerful, cruel struggle of life, and my enjoyment in discovering something, in learning something.”
August Strindberg about 'The Father'
Strindberg’s play The Father is about a man who believes in the redeeming power of scientific reason but is driven to madness by his calculating, darkly passionate wife. The battle turns on one key question: who has the power over their child? And in this war between the sexes the outcome will be deadly.
The play’s unsentimental view of marriage and the family shocked audiences when it was first produced, but speaks to us now with a directness that can be electrifying.
One of America’s most brilliant directors joins forces with the two actors whose recent performances of the lead roles were described by critics as ‘stunning’, ‘terrifying’, and ‘gripping’, in Borealis Productions’ premiere presentation of Strindberg’s searing masterpiece.
The Director's Vision
When is the time right to re-explore a disturbing masterpiece?
The Father helped establish Strindberg’s reputation as a playwright willing to delve into the darkest corners of the male-female power struggle.
The play takes a more direct, disturbing look at human nature, something today’s sentimental society rarely does.
Strindberg speaks to us directly with a voice that predicts Freudian analysis, self-help pop-psychology and support groups.
Watching this drama offers the same twists and turns of cruelty and sexual gamesmanship that has become our popular obsession.
Our current fascination with dysfunctional relationships, as witnessed by the craze for reality TV, makes the time ripe to produce this play.
The Father is work that can move us, frighten us, and teach us a great deal about our human condition.
The Challenges
How do we include the audience in the dark landscape of Strindberg’s paranoid schizophrenic mind?
Coming to grips with the extraordinary balance he struck between revealing his own personal madness and his phenomenal craftsmanship as a playwright.
With multi-media projections, shifting imagery much the way the brain processes in a dissociative disorder, the audience can glimpse the inner workings of the main character, Strindberg’s alter-ego.
At heart The Father is Impressionism—it is life reflected in a distorted mirror. Our production is committed to finding that essence.
We plan to open our rehearsal doors to the curious and our minds to those who are willing to add to our understanding of Strindberg and his world.
Reviews
"unnervingly realistic" "stunning"
“The play is a damning critique of the institution of marriage, the institution of the church and of the institution of medicine. And, of course, of the duplicity of Woman.
“Clara Andersson, is stunning in her role as Laura, the devilish matriarch who will stop at nothing in her quest to gain control of her house and her daughter. She exudes a chilling mixture of feigned innocence and impossible cruelty.”
“The show, is stolen by the protagonist Llewellyn St. David. The lack of any real distinction between stage and audience makes his unnervingly realistic journey into the depths of insanity as disconcerting for the members of the audience as it is for those of his family, and the line between the two seems to disappear into thin air. The mix of fear and compassion he induces in the audience makes Strindberg’s point all the more pertinent”
Extracts from Fridge Magnet
"fascinating" "terrifying" "gripping"
“The play is worth seeing for the central performance of Llewellyn St David as Adolf alone. He has a fascinating physical presence, stalking across the stage in increasingly jerky and spider-like movements as Adolf’s mind breaks. St David’s portrayal of an unhappy man who undergoes a breakdown is gripping.”
“Clara Andersson’s Laura is a terrifying figure, an icy matriarch willing to do anything to triumph over her husband.”
“The Father is a brilliant depiction of every failed marriage. It is a true horror story, taking the purity of marriage and uncovering every defect and flaw the institution can hold.”