FATHER'S SON
Photos: Ali Wright
★★★★
There is little in the way of theatrics here. The black stage area houses only a couple of boxes, which serve as seats, and other than a few fleeting moments of violence, convincingly depicted through Play Dead's movement direction, there isn't much visual action. Instead the focus is on the dialogue and thanks to the compelling work of the actors, we find ourselves immersed in both deep engagement and thought. - Jonathan Marshall, Broadway World
'Father’s Son displays the delicate nature of the dynamic between man and his boy, and is done so with upmost sensitivity and truthfulness.' - Phoebe Cole, Spy in the stalls
1974. A shattering and inconvenient truth.
2001. An act of extraordinary violence.
2018. The severing of family ties.
This restless, tender and deeply personal new play wrestles with the trauma inherited from father to son with sharp focus on how this shapes who we are. Spanning three generations, Father's Son examines how the unresolved trauma, toxic behaviours and poor mental health ripple through a working class family in Stoke.
James Morton is an urgent and necessary working class voice and makes his professional debut at VAULT Festival.
“James Morton is a writer of real and rare talent and humanity. He is restlessly searching, deeply compassionate and as fucking funny as he is truthful. In the future you will be definitely boasting about seeing his early plays.” (Simon Stephens)
Father's Son was developed through the National Theatre's Toolkit programme and Soho Writers' Lab. It was shortlisted for the Tony Craze Award in 2018.