CULTURE CLUB
17 - 21 Oct
BACKSTAGE Of Fathers and Sons In conversation with Phoebe Harper, Rupert Everett shares his thoughts on heading back out on tour in John Mortimer’s A Voyage Round My Father
A play brimming with hilarity, eccentricity and thought- provoking moments of reflection, taking the lead role in John Mortimer’s celebrated autobiographical work A Voyage Round My Father was a no-brainer for Bafta and Golden Globe nominee Rupert Everett. “I had wanted to do a play that was nostalgic and remembered this piece – it’s like Chekhov meets Dad’s Army , which I find extremely compelling,” he muses. Touted by critics as a funny and moving portrayal of family life in 20th- century Britain, the play foregrounds the fraught relationship between a young man and his father – in particular during the former’s unconventional childhood. Rupert first encountered the play during his own youth after being enamoured by Mortimer’s television series Rumpole of the Bailey , and immediately fell in love with its bucolic backdrop. “It’s a beautiful and brilliant piece of writing,” he remarks. “It brings to life a summer you imagine from when one was young, when it was warm all the time and bees would buzz around the garden.”
Described as rather like a ‘collage of scenes’, the performance is delivered through a narrated series of flashbacks, each one a reflective snapshot capturing moments from childhood and beyond. “In a way, the play is a strange kind of portrait by a son of his father,” he expands, with Rupert himself assuming the role of the titular patriarch Clifford Mortimer: a cantankerous, ageing barrister whose blindness remains an unacknowledged truth among his long-suffering family. “It’s extremely funny, but incredibly moving also,” he describes. This enigmatic character has previously been portrayed by acting legends such as Sir Laurence Olivier in a 1982 screen adaptation and Alec Guinness for its inaugural 1971 stage performance, followed by Derek Jacobi in 2006. Now, Rupert will bring Mortimer’s proud paterfamilias to life under the direction of former artistic director of the National Theatre, Richard Eyre. “It’s a great character, and in playing it, so much of the work has been done for you thanks to the wonderful writing and its conception,” he comments.
Equally as captivating as the play itself is Rupert’s return to theatre – once again immersed in the convivial and intimate atmosphere of rehearsal rooms before hitting the road at the end of the month for a UK tour. For him, it’s a space that offers an avenue for connection that has become a rarity in our increasingly virtual world. “What I find so compelling and exciting about theatre nowadays is that it’s all about community,” he affirms. “You step into a rehearsal room and all your barriers come down. Rehearsals to me are a great celebration of life since they are all about communicating, opening up and trusting each other.” Ahead of the performance’s stint at the Cambridge Arts Theatre from 17 to 21 October, Rupert confesses his enthusiasm at the thought of returning to the city and treading the boards once again. “I feel very lucky to be able to do it and communicate with an audience in this way, it’s extremely exciting.”
For more information and to book your tickets, visit cambridgeartstheatre.com
16 OCTOBER 2023 CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK
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