
“Am I – or am I not – the child’s father?”
A brand new Belgrade Theatre production, The Father is a highly-charged, compelling drama by August Strindberg, directed by Joe Harmston in a new version by Laurie Slade.
An uneasy stand-off exists between the Captain and his wife, Laura. But a disagreement over the future of their daughter, Bertha, triggers an all out war.
Laura will stop at nothing to gain control of her daughter’s education and when she suggests to the Captain that he may not actually be the girl’s father at all, she sets a chain of events in motion that cannot be stopped.
Joe Harmston’s acclaimed productions of Agatha Christie plays have been hugely successful at the Belgrade in recent years.
Complementary perspectives on the battle of the sexes are explored by the Belgrade this season with The Father and Nora, Ingmar Bergman’s adaptation of A Doll’s House. The Father was Strindberg’s response to A Doll’s House. Starting with an explosive power-struggle between a married couple both plays move towards equally devastating but radically different outcomes.
Both The Father and Nora follow previous Belgrade productions such as Uncle Vanya and Scenes from a Marriage in a line of plays which examine the nature of marriage – a timeless issue as relevant today as it was when these classic plays were first written.
Please note: this production contains strong language.
Running time: 1 hour 40 mins with no interval.
Sat 31 Mar | 7:45pm | Preview | ||
Mon 2 Apr | 7:45pm | Preview | ||
Tue 3 Apr | 7:00pm | |||
Wed 4 Apr | 7:45pm | |||
Thu 5 Apr | 7:45pm | |||
Sat 7 Apr | 2:30pm | |||
Sat 7 Apr | 7:45pm | |||
Wed 11 Apr | 2:30pm | |||
Wed 11 Apr | 7:45pm | |||
Thu 12 Apr | 7:45pm | Post-Show Discussion | ||
Fri 13 Apr | 7:45pm | Captioned Performance | ||
Sat 14 Apr | 2:30pm | Audio Described | ||
Sat 14 Apr | 7:45pm |
The Women of The Father: Sat 14 April 11.30am – 1pm
Venue: Herbert Art Gallery & Museum
This is a special event from the Herbert about the role of women in 19th century society to complement The Father.
See examples from the Herbert’s collection and listen to experts from their team and Coventry University.
Dr. Cathy Hunt from Coventry University is working with Ali Wells, who curates the Herbert’s costume collection, to develop a talk covering aspects of women’s lives in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This will cover family life, marriage, motherhood and child rearing, as well as changing legislation, working patterns and leisure.
Costume from the Herbert’s collection will be used to illustrate the talk.
Tickets to this event are FREE to anyone who buys a ticket to The Father and for Friends of the Belgrade and Friends of the Herbert. Alternatively tickets for the event alone can be purchased from the Herbert, priced £3.50.

Join the director and writer for a FREE workshop about The Father
Join director Joe Harmston and writer Laurie Slade in a complimentary pre-show workshop and post-show discussion about The Father on Monday 2 April. Read more

The Scandinavian Zeitgeist – from The Killing to The Father
A century before THE KILLING, BORGEN, WALLANDER and THE MILLENIUM TRILOGY, another Scandinavian golden era gave us playwrights Ibsen and Strindberg. The Belgrade ... Read more

Watch our audiences review The Father
We asked some of our audience members what they thought of The Father - watch what they said here! Read more

Joe Harmston on the challenges of rehearsals
Director of The Father, Joe Harmston, talks about his experience and the demands of the rehearsal process. Read more

Lighting Designer Mike Robertson shares with us his vision for The Father
Mike tells us about the inspiration behind his design and gives us his take on rehearsals so far. Read more

Staten Cousins-Roe gives us an update on tech rehearsals for The Father
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 his... Read more

Listen to a teaser snippet of music from The Father
We've managed to get our hands on a teaser snippet of music from The Father - listen to it here for a taste of what to expect! Read more

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

Video: Holly Earl chats to us backstage during technical rehearsals for The Father
In the madness of technical rehearsals, we chat backstage to Holly Earl about her character, costume (complete with Converse!) and how she's finding her thea... Read more

Video: We talk to Laurence Kennedy backstage during technical rehearsals for The Father
On the first full day of technical rehearsals for The Father, we managed to grab a quick chat backstage with Laurence Kennedy - in full costume as the Pastor - ab... Read more

The cast of The Father pose for costume snaps!
During technical rehearsals, we grabbed a few of the actors from the Father cast to take some snaps of them in costume. Read more

An update on rehearsals for The Father from Barbara Young
We caught up with Barbara Young, who is playing the Nurse in The Father, to see how rehearsals have been going and to find out more about her character. Read more

Staten Cousins-Roe on playing Nöjd in The Father
Staten Cousins-Roe, who is playing Nöjd in The Father, takes time out of rehearsals to tell us a bit about his character and how his actions underpin the sto... Read more

Katy Stephens on returning to the Belgrade for The Father
In this video we chat to Katy Stephens about returning to the Belgrade to play the role of Laura in The Father. Read more

We meet and greet the cast of The Father
The cast and production team of The Father are now in the theatre for the final two weeks of rehearsals before the show opens on Sat 31 March, and in true Belgrad... Read more

Award-winning RSC actors Katy Stephens and Joe Dixon to star in The Father
Meet the cast of The Father, which includes award-winning RSC actors Joe Dixon and Katy Stephens. Read more

Joe Dixon on playing the Captain in The Father
In this interview we talk to Joe Dixon about playing the Captain in The Father and we ask what the cast will be getting up to during rehearsals. Read more

Laurie Slade explains how his version of The Father differs to Strindberg's original
We caught up with Laurie Slade to find out how his new version of August Strindberg's The Father will differ to the original. Read more

Writer Laurie Slade talks about his new version of The Father
This year we're marking the centenary of August Strindberg's death with a brand new version of The Father by Laurie Slade. In this interview we ask Laur... Read more

Director Joe Harmston tells us why The Father is a follow up to Nora
In this video the director of our upcoming production of The Father, Joe Harmston, tells us why the play is considered a follow up to Nora. Read more