Review: The Father

Hey readers!
It's time for my review of The Father.
Ever since the Olivier Awards winners were announced, I have been trying to see all the winners live. Richmond Theatre was lucky enough to be able to book The Father with Kenneth Cranham's award winning performance as André. I can say with absolute certainty that Kenneth really deserved his award. He puts so much emotion into the character, especially in the final scene which brought a tear to my eye. The storyline, for those who are interesting in seeing the play, is: 'Now 80 years old, André was once a tap dancer. He lives with his daughter Anne and her husband Antoine. Or was he an engineer whose daughter Anne lives in London with her new lover, Pierre? The thing is, he is still wearing his pajamas, and he can't find his watch. He is starting to wonder if he's losing control.' The show had a very strong cast, which consisted of Kenneth Cranham as André, Amanda Drew as Anne, Daniel Flynn as Pierre, Jade Williams as Laura, Brian Doherty as Man and Rebecca Charles as Woman. Amanda Drew, who I saw in Three Days in the Country last year, was phenomenal and was a delight to watch once again. She also puts a lot of emotion into her character. Having two grandparents with dementia (one who sadly passed away in 2015) it has really helped me understand it a lot more and how frustrating the illness can be. The character of André had traits of both my grandfather and grandmother. The play did have some light-hearted and humorous bits which I think was good to add in. The play was also very deserving of it's Olivier nominations for 'Best Play' and 'Best Sound Design'. The set was very well designed and lighting was very good. It is so well written and I hope to see more plays by Florian Zeller. The only thing that perhaps could have been changed was the play is set in France, which I didn't feel was necessary as it could've been set in England.

The featured star of The Father is, drum roll please… KENNETH CRANHAM!

Kenneth gives a mesmerising performance that absolutely blows the audience away. I am so happy that the Olivier committee noticed this stunning performance. As I said, he gives such an emotional and heartfelt performance and I hope once he is finished touring with The Father he will be back in the theatre soon.

Now for my final verdict of The Father. I give The Father…

The Father will be heading to Brighton next so for those who are nearby to the Theatre Royal in Brighton make sure to get some tickets!

Think it should have got a lower rating? If so comment below.

Join me next time when I will be reviewing The Brink.

Thanks for reading!

-The Reviewer