The Father

This was not at all times an easy watch, but it was a thoroughly rewarding one. Sometimes you have to look past subject matter. I have a colleague who just doesn't want to see depressing plays, only uplifting ones. And this portrayal of an old man's descent into dementia isn't uplifting. Far from it. But it did feel very real.

Kenneth Cranham in the lead role is fantastic, but this was a clever one act play, superbly presented. We start with a somewhat cantankerous old man being chastised by his daughter for having annoyed his carer so much that she has walked out of the job. At this point he is merely forgetful. But gets more and more confused as the scenes change, but then so are we. Because there are two sets of actors playing hi daughter and son-in-law, so we too don't know fact from fiction. Is the daughter about to move to London (this is  a French play)? In some scenes she is, in some she isn't.

Corresponding to his descent into dementia, the set becomes barer and barer as he moves from his flat, to the minimalist flat of his daughter to his eventual hospital bed. Anyone who has ever looked after someone who is very elderly will spot the traits that make this dialogue so true - the annoyance at loved ones, the moments of lucidity matched immediately by those of confusion. And finishing off with the terror of being totally confused by the world and desperately needing comfort, which cannot come. The look on Kenneth Cranham's face as the final curtain comes down will haunt you. But be haunted, It's worth it.