The Father

This is a blog about the Belgrade Theatre Coventry's production of August Strindberg's play The Father. This new version by Laurie Slade, directed by Joe Harmston runs on the Belgrade's Main Stage from Sat 31 March - Sat 14 April 2012. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-17689189-14']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();

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We asked audience members Margaret Davidson, Christabelle Watson, Sheryl Lenthall, Jane Crone, Lynn Kimmins, Oscar Saville, Brian Bishop and Simon Gee what they throught of The Father - watch them give their reviews here!

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Click the link above to read an interview with cast members Joe Dixon and Katy Stephens in the Coventry Telegraph

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Technical rehearsals continue on the Belgrade Main Stage for The Father and today saw the most dramatic scenes of the show played out on stage, a challenge for cast and creatives alike. Director Joe Harmston told us about the challenges he’s faced and how the play has developed during rehearsals.

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Watch this interview with Mike Robertson, Lighting Designer for The Father, as he tells us what inspired his design and brings us the latest news on the technical rehearsals.

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The Scandinavian Zeitgeist - from The Killing to The Father

Devotees of the vast array of television drama and writing which has burst into our consciousness from Scandinavia in the last few years will find a treat in store at The Belgrade Theatre in Coventry from Saturday 31 March. A century before THE KILLING, BORGEN, WALLANDER and THE MILLENIUM TRILOGY, another Scandinavian golden era gave us playwrights Ibsen and Strindberg. The Belgrade Theatre which has already staged NORA, Ingmar Bergman’s version of Ibsen’s A DOLLS’ HOUSE, continues its daring programming by opening the world premiere of Laurie Slade’s new version of Strindberg’s THE FATHER. Viewers who have relished the darkly intense narratives of the current wave of creative energy flowing from Northern Europe, will find a familiar world in Strindberg’s extraordinary, powerful drama about a family’s struggle over the future of their daughter. The creative team, led by director, Joe Harmston, have been inspired by the visual world embodied in the current Scandinavian wave. “There is something of the darkness of the forest in all this work”, says Harmston, “Something oppressive and raw which shapes the drama and the characters within it. “Whether it is Lisbeth Salander or Nana Birk Larsson or Strindberg’s Captain, the sense of blundering through woods escaping a life-threatening foe was always vivid in my mind when preparing. This production is certainly not confined by a nineteenth-century box set!” THE FATHER runs from Saturday 31 March until Saturday 14 April at The Belgrade Theatre Coventry.

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Staten Cousins-Roe took time out from technical rehearsals for The Father to tell us a bit more about what we’ll see and hear onstage during the show and about his character Nöjd.

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Check out these photos that we took of the actors rehearsing in The Father on the Main Stage - the set and lighting looks amazing!

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Here's a teaser snippet of some of the music from The Father - click above to have a listen.

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We've been sneaking into technical rehearsals this week for The Father before it opens on Saturday. It's all very exciting with the actors in full costume and the set and lighting assembled on the Main Stage, and it looks like it's going to be fantastic! Here are some photos that we took of some of the cast in their costumes during a break.

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We were allowed a sneak peek into Batrbara Young's dressing room during techical rehearsals for The Father, where she chats to us about the show, her wig and how she last viisted the Belgrade in the days of Trevor Nunn!

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We managed to grab Laurence Kennedy, playing the Pastor in The Father, in full costume, about how the technical rehearsals are going.

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In the first day of technical rehearsals for The Father, we chat to Holly Earl (playing the character of the daughter, Bertha) about her character, costume and which scenes they're rehearsing.

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In this video we chat to Katy Stephens on the first day of The Father rehearsals to find out how she feels about returning to the Belgrade to play the role of Laura. A Coventry resident, Katy has appeared in numerous Belgrade productions including Twelfth Night, Our Day Out and various pantomimes.

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In this video the director of our upcoming production of The Father, Joe Harmston, tells us why August Strindberg wrote the play as a response to Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, the story on which our production of Nora is based. Starting with an explosive power struggle between a married couple both plays move towards equally devastating but radically different outcomes.

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Award-winning RSC actors Katy Stephens and Joe Dixon to star in the Father

The cast for the Belgrade’s upcoming production of August Strindberg’s The Father has now been confirmed and includes award-winning actors Joe Dixon and Katy Stephens as the central couple.

Joe and Laura have worked extensively in theatre, in particular with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Between 2002 and 2008 Joe led the company in numerous RSC productions – he has played both Oberon and Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and he played opposite David Tenant in Love’s Labours Lost. Elsewhere, Joe created the role of ‘The General’ for Luc Bondy and Peter Brook in Martin Crimp’s Cruel and Tender and he played Jaques in Cheek by Jowl’s award-winning, all-male production of As you like It, for which he received the Ian Charleson award from Prince Charles. He also lead the company alongside Sir Antony Sher when the RSC’s ‘Jacobethan’ season won the Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement and Joe was also individually nominated for a Best Actor Award.

When he’s not on stage Joe has acted in Hollywood blockbuster The Mummy Returns alongside Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz and John Hannah and later this year he can be seen in The Cold Light of Day alongside Bruce Willis, Sigourney Weaver and Henry Cavill. On television he played the lead opposite Eva Pope in the BBC drama 32 Brinkburn Street last year.

A member of the RSC Ensemble from 2009 to 2011, Katy has also appeared in numerous productions including The Grain Store, King Lear and Antony and Cleopatra. She also played all of the major female roles in the Histories Cycles, which resulted in her being awarded the What’s On Stage Award for Best Actress in a Play for her portrayal of Joan of Arc, along with the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Ensemble Performance and the Evening Standard Editor’s Award. Most recently she has appeared in the RSC’s production of Silence at Hampstead Theatre.

The role of Doctor Östermark will be played by Patrick Toomey (Wild Horses, Theatre 503) and the Pastor will be played by Laurence Kennedy (First Light, Edinburgh Playhouse/Kings Head London). The cast also includes Staten Cousins-Roe as Nöjd, Holly Earl as Bertha and Barbara Young as the Nurse. Barbara is best known recently for her many television appearances (including Sadie in Channel 5 soap opera Family Affairs) but also acclaimed as Nora in Ibsen’s A Doll’s House in Frank Hauser’s notable production.

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We caught up with actor Joe Dixon on the first day of rehearsals for The Father to see how he feels about taking on the role of the Captain. We also asked him to fill us in on what the cast and creative team will be doing during the first few days of rehearsals.

The Father will run on the Main Stage from Sat 31 March to Sat 14 April.