The Father offers a glimpse into the unstable reality of dementia
Credit to Author: Shawn Conner| Date: Wed, 20 Nov 2019 19:00:34 +0000
When: Nov. 20-30
Where: Vancity Culture Lab
Tickets and info: from $25 at tickets.thecultch.com
Audience members at The Father may find themselves somewhat disoriented. That’s all part of the playwright’s intention.
Florian Zeller’s play is structured in such a way that “the audience gets the experience of what it’s like to have dementia,” said director Mindy Parfitt.
“It’s a very unique way of dealing with dementia in a theatrical context. They’re able to get a sense of what it is like when reality is unreliable.”
The Father is about a man, Andre, suffering dementia, his daughter, and their circle of friends and acquaintances. Winner of the 2014 Moliére Award for Best Play, it’s also received accolades in London (where it received a rare five-star review in the Guardian) and New York. It was made into the 2015 film Floride.
Parfitt first became acquainted with the French playwright when she saw a 2018 Zeller play called The Height of the Storm in London. When she returned to Vancouver she read all of his work and pursued the rights to The Father. The production represents the western Canadian premiere of Zeller’s work.
“He has a great sense of humour,” Parfitt said. “I love his ability to catch the nuance and subtlety in relationships, and that he’s able to take dementia, which is a very difficult subject, into the personal experience and context of family relationships in a way that doesn’t make it an issue play.”
To research The Father, Parfitt talked to people with experiences of dementia and Alzheimer’s (the particular affliction in the play is never specified).
“I felt like the piece was really about his (Andre’s) experience, and the daughter’s experience, so I wanted to understand how what Zeller had written compared to other people’s experiences.”
The loss of agency came up often.
“That became a pivot point for us in talking about dementia — how (Andre) is not able to make decisions for himself, and how difficult that is for himself but also for his daughter, who’s starting to have to make those decisions for him.”
The production features Jillian Fargey, Stephen Lobo, Agnes Tong, Emma Slipp, and Kayvon Khoshkam. Kevin McNulty (Bah Humbug, Bard on the Beach productions) plays the title role.
“Kevin read the piece and saw the potential for him as an actor and just wanted to do it,” Parfitt said.
“I think he also fell in love with the text. It’s a great opportunity for him as an actor. I developed the cast around him.” On Broadway, Frank Langella played the role.
Parfitt, who has extensive theatre credits, is producing the play under the aegis of her newly formed company The Search Party. She established the company not just to do The Father, she says, but “to work on something with a long-term vision and goal. As a freelancer, I love the opportunities to work project-to-project, and not have the responsibility of a long-term vision. But it doesn’t require all of my skill-set. I was starting to feel like I wanted to access those different skills. I was craving doing that.”
She also “felt an urge to contribute something that had a long-term, lasting effect to the theatre community and something that would help and support and build that community in this city.”
The Father is the first step in this direction.
“I want people to feel moved by the story, and to feel a sense of empathy for people who are struggling with dementia, and also their family members,” she said.
“And I also want them to feel inspired by the art form, and what it is to be in the room with talented actors being supported by talented designers, to feel the impact of difficult, challenging human experiences and come away feeling reinvigorated by the theatre.”
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