Preview: A Voyage Round My Father

A Voyage Round My Father runs from the 2nd September until the 2nd October 2010. There are matinees on Thursdays and Saturdays. Tickets can be booked by ringing the Playhouse on 01722 320 333.

A Voyage Round My Father

A Voyage Round My Father is an autobiographical work about the relationship between Sir John Mortimer, and his father Clifford. Clifford Mortimer was also a lawyer, and it has been said that Sir John’s most famous character, ‘Rumpole of the Bailey’ was based on him¹.

Image from Amazon

It seems to have been a loving but sometimes difficult relationship. The director of the Canberra production of ‘A Voyage’ said that Mortimer

needed to have people’s praise all the time, and I think that’s why he went into the high profile trials like the Oz trial. He needed notoriety, he needed to be held up by people because he had a really damaged childhood. ²

Previous Productions of ‘A Voyage Round My Father’

‘A Voyage’ first appeared as a series of radio plays in 1963.³

Mortimer then adapted the play for television. The first screen version was shown in 1969, starring Mark Dignam and Ian Richardson. It was re-made as a TV film in 1982, starring Laurence Olivier, Alan Bates and Jane Asher. The Laurence Olivier version is available on DVD.

Image from Amazon

The 1971 theatrical version starred Alec Guinness and Jeremy Brett as the father and son.

There have been recent revivals of the play at the Donmar Warehouse⁴, the New Vic at Newcastle under Lyme ⁵ and Sterts Theatre in Cornwall ⁶.

In Newcastle, the play was performed, appropriately enough, ‘in the round’ – with the audience seated around a central stage.

Reviews of ‘A Voyage Round My Father’

Reviews for the various stage productions have included the following comments:

In Canberra:

Voyage Round My Father is certainly poignant, but mostly it’s very funny. ⁷

At the Donmar:

Thea Sharrock’s production in the tiny Donmar space is a delightful and gently witty piece. ⁸

For the production in Newcastle:

Heskins’s production glows with a warm nostalgia whose optimistic outlook already appears to belong to a bygone age….[Mortimer's] portrait of his paterfamilias was as generous and humane as anything he wrote. ⁹

The film received an Emmy award for ‘Best Drama’¹⁰, and was nominated for serveral Baftas.

Booking

A Voyage Round My Father runs from the 2nd September until the 2nd October 2010. There are matinees on Thursdays and Saturdays.

You can book online at: Salisbury Playhouse | A Voyage Round My Father

Or telephone: 01722 320 333

Further reading, listening and viewing

If you enjoyed ‘A Voyage Round My Father’, you might or might not be interested in the following on Amazon

John Mortimer on DVD

John Mortimer on CD

John Mortimer Biographies

Footnotes

1. A Voyage Round My Father, a CurtainUp London review [↩]
2. A Voyage Round My Father by John Mortimer | Stage Whispers [↩]
3. Obituary: Sir John Mortimer | Culture | guardian.co.uk [↩]
4. Theater Review: A Voyage Round My Father – Theater and Musical Production Reviews [↩]
5. New Vic Theatre in Newcastle [↩]
6. AN ACCLAIMED Cornish theatre company kicks off its 2010 summer season with a heart-warming new version of one of the 20th century’s most-loved plays. [↩]
7. A Voyage Round My Father by John Mortimer | Stage Whispers [↩]
8. A Voyage Round My Father, a CurtainUp London review [↩]
9. Theatre review: A Voyage Round My Father / New Vic, Newcastle-under-Lyme | Culture | The Guardian [↩]
10. » DVD Review: A Voyage Round My Father – Blogger News Network [↩]