West End and Broadway Hit THE FATHER to Make South African Premiere at The Fugard

The Tony- and Olivier Award-winning Broadway and West End hit, Florian Zeller's THE FATHER, translated from the French by Christopher Hampton, is set to have its South African premiere at The Fugard Studio Theatre. Nominated for both the Olivier Award for Best New Play and the Tony Award for Best Play, THE FATHER saw Kenneth Cranham and Frank Langella take home the awards for Best Actor at those respective awards ceremonies in London and New York.

An Eric Abraham and Fugard Theatre production, THE FATHER peers inside the mind of Andre, a retired dancer living with his adult daughter Anne and her husband. Or is he a retired engineer receiving a visit from Anne who has moved away with her boyfriend? Why do strangers keep turning up in his room? And where has he left his watch? THE FATHER is a funny, sad and poignant roller coaster ride on a fight against insanity that twists and turns with all the excitement of a taut thriller.

Daniel Galloway, Executive Director of The Fugard Theatre, comments:

Dementia is a disease that many can relate to. We may have experiences of living through it with loved ones, or faced the real and terrifying thought that this degenerative disease of the brain is not selective of circumstance and can affect any of us. We have no control over it, no matter who we are. THE FATHER is a very poignant exploration of the frailty of the human mind.

THE FATHER will be directed by Greg Karvellas (CLYBOURNE PARK, BAD JEWS, CHAMP) and features an all South African cast headed by acting legend Marius Weyers. Weyers is one of South Africa's most loved and prolific actors whose career has spanned decades across stage and screen both locally and internationally. His numerous films have included TWEE GRADE VAN MOORD, DIS EK, ANNA, NOTHING FOR MAHALA, DIE LAASTE TANGO, BLOOD DIAMOND, THE POWER OF ONE and THE GODS MUST BE CRAZY. On stage his credits include OOM WANYA/UNCLE VANJA, BECKETT, THE RAINMAKER, OTHELLO, HAMLET and I.D.

The powerhouse cast also includes Anthea Thompson (MY BRILJANTE EGSKEIDING, SHIRLEY VALENTINE, A DOLL'S HOUSE), Emily Child (THE PERVERT LAURA, THE EMISSARY, CONTRACTIONS), Brent Palmer (A STEADY RAIN, THE KINGMAKERS, BENCH), Nicholas Pauling (CLYBOURNE PARK, A STEADY RAIN, THE PERVERT LAURA) and Amy Louise Wilson (THE BOOK OF NEGROES, SCRAPE, THE YEAR OF THE BICYCLE).

Set design is by Rocco Pool, costume design by Birrie le Roux and lighting design by Kieran McGregor.

Described as one of the most exciting contemporary playwrights, Zeller wrote his first novel at the age of 22, and recently and uniquely had three of his acclaimed plays - THE MOTHER, THE FATHER and THE TRUTH - running in London theatres at the same time. Galloway says:

We are also thrilled to also announce that we will be staging THE FATHER's companion piece, THE MOTHER in February next year, directed by Janice Honeyman and starring Anna-Mart van der Merwe who is currently in Athol Fugard's new play THE PAINTED ROCKS AT REVOLVER CREEK currently playing in The Fugard Studio.

THE FATHER will run at The Fugard Studio Theatre from 8 November to 3 December 2016 on Tuesdays through Saturdays at 20:00 with 16:00 matinee performances on Saturdays. Tickets, ranging from R130 to R160, are now available and can be booked online through Computicket, by phone on 0861 915 8000, or at any Shoprite Checkers outlet. Bookings can also be made at the Fugard Theatre box office on 021 461 4554. There is a generous 15% discount available for the Friends of The Fugard members.

The Fugard Theatre is situated in the heart of District Six, on the corner of Harrington and Caledon Streets, Cape Town. Harrington Street car park is located at the corner of Caledon and Harrington streets and is available for the use of theatre patrons. Visit the cosy ground-floor bar, which opens two hours before all scheduled show times and stays open until last rounds are called, often as late as 01:00. And if the weather is fine the bar on the fantastic rooftop terrace is opened, with its panoramic views of the city. Both bars offer a range of wines from some of the Cape's top estates.