Overview
Synopsis
Andre is a man facing persecution from all sides, and he refuses to take it any longer. First some girl, a “helper” -- whom he doesn’t need at all -- steals his favorite watch. Then his daughter Anne, a scheming woman who worries too much, tries to take his flat away -- the beautiful flat he’s had for over thirty years, in which he is still quite capable of living, thank you very much! His daughter Elise, the one he actually loves… where is she? She never comes to visit. Anne’s husband -- or lover -- Pierre, with whom she is moving to London -- or staying in Paris -- threatens Andre with violence if he will not cooperate, and to top it off, strangers keep entering Andre’s flat, telling him that they are his friends and family, telling him that he doesn’t live in his flat anymore. However aged he may be, Andre knows that he is a powerful man, a man of authority, and he will find some way to assert it. After all, he still has all his faculties…. Doesn’t he? In a darkly humorous and deeply poignant translation by Christopher Hampton, Florian Zeller’s The Father is a tragi-comic mystery, a sobering and realistic family story, and an unsentimental, emotionally intense look at the world through the eyes of a man experiencing dementia, a dramatic illustration of the physical losses which occur along with the mental ones.
Show Information
- Book
- Florian Zeller
- Category
- Play
- Age Guidance
- Youth (Y)/General Audiences (G)
- Number of Acts
- 1
- First Produced
- 2012
- Genres
- Drama, Dark Comedy
- Settings
- Contemporary, Unit/Single Set
- Time & Place
- a flat, paris, the present (2010s)
- Cast Size
- small
- Licensor
- Dramatists Play Service
- Ideal For
- Includes Elderly, Adult, Mature Adult, Young Adult Characters, Small Cast
Context
Plot
Characters
| Name | Part Size | Gender | Vocal Part |
|---|---|---|---|
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Lead |
Male |
Non-singer |
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Supporting |
Male |
Spoken |
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|
Supporting |
Female |
Spoken |
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Supporting |
Female |
Spoken |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Spoken |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Spoken |
Songs
A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.
Monologues
Scenes
Key Terms
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Videos
Quizzes
Themes, Symbols & Motifs
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Quote Analysis
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