A Voyage Round My Father

He Who Must Be Obeyed

A Voyage Round My Father

by John Mortimer

Jonathan Church and Theatre Royal Bath Productions at Richmond Theatre until 14^th October, then on tour until 18^th November

Review by Andrew Lawston

Richmond Theatre’s stage is covered in projected greenery which becomes the beloved garden at the heart of A Voyage Round My Father, John Mortimer’s 1970 play which dramatises and chronicles his relationship with his father – a great English eccentric barrister who was full of poetry, fun, and acerbic wit, but who proved emotionally unavailable, lavishing his care and attention on his garden instead of upon his son.

Rupert Everett plays Father, depicting this looming figure throughout his later years.  It is a towering but restrained performance, as the man imposes upon his whole family, despite often sitting entirely still for whole scenes at a time while they run around him.  Father’s stillness is ostensibly due to his blindness, but the size of the man’s personality suggests matters would be much the same if he were sighted.

The play’s inciting event is the almost trivial gardening accident that caused Father to lose his sight, conveyed by a blinding flash, a blaze of sound, and a sudden blackout that shocks the audience into close attention from the outset.

Much of the first half of A Voyage Round My Father takes place during the inter-war years, as the Son attends a boarding school staffed by masters suffering from PTSD, and every time war is mentioned, quotes Father’s one piece of paternal advice: “avoid the temptation to do anything heroic!”

The Son proceeds through school and young adulthood in a confident central performance from Jack Bardoe, acting as both the lead and as a narrator.  Eleanor David plays Mother, a constant presence at Father’s side, supportive, attentive, and mediating between Father and Son.  David gives a quiet but powerful performance, talking about her abandoned hobby of sketching with a particularly wistful note as a hint of a life not lived.

In the second half, Allegra Marland plays Elizabeth, who eventually marries the Son.  Although it’s a shame that she enters the story comparatively late, as Elizabeth gives the audience a fresh perspective on the family’s dynamic.

The rest of the cast double up to play multiple roles.  Calum Finlay is enormous fun in his primary role as the Son’s school friend Reigate, with his mother who is as slim as a bluebell and wears high heels (the Son retorts that his mother goes to cocktail parties and may be divorcing Father).  The scene where Reigate and his parents share a stage with the Son, Father and Mother, to sing a hymn under the direction of Julian Wadham’s wonderfully eccentric Headmaster (“Noah”), is an unexpected comedy highlight of the show, as Everett’s Father and Heather Bleasdale’s Mrs Reigate outdo each other in dreadful singing.  Wadham’s Headmaster also excels in his valedictory speech to his young students which warns them against the perils of dreams and friendship in roundly euphemistic fashion.

With Zena Carswell, John Dougall and Richard Hodder all getting chances to shine in their multiple roles as the story unfolds, A Voyage Round My Father feels at all times like an ensemble piece, even as the projected foliage that surrounds Bob Crowley’s stark but effective set grows darker, as Father’s health begins to decline.

As Father declines, the Son begins to grow in success and stature as a barrister (having been persuaded into studying law by Father, despite his preference to become a writer), creating an unbearably tense dinner party scene between the principal cast members, cutting straight through the humour that has prevailed up to that point and foreshadowing the emotional climax of the play.

The ensemble cast and Richard Eyre’s assured direction helps keep the pace of this very wordy play brisk, so that we are applauding the final curtain some time before the projected running time.

A Voyage Round My Father is funny, intriguing, and poignant by turns.  A commanding performance from Rupert Everett, ably complemented by Jack Bardoe, depicts an eccentric but ultimately very lovable and loving Father, who chooses for reasons which remain inexplicable to withhold that love from his Son.  This is an excellent production of an unforgettable play, and deserves to play to packed houses.

Andrew Lawston, October 2023

Photography by Manuel Harlan