Do3 - Strindberg, The Father, 22 Sept.

[french frank]

As mentioned in a previous post, this is one of a trilogy of classic plays focusing on the social condition of women at around the start of the 20th c.

However, Gillian Reynolds writes:

"Strindberg’s 1890 play, continues this network’s series of classic dramas that address the revolutionary changes in attitudes to women that emerged around the turn of the 19th century. But this isn’t the demanding original, it’s a new adaptation by Laurie Slade. Joe Dixon plays the Captain, the dominant father; Katy Stephens plays the determined mother; Holly Earl is the daughter whose education and future they fight about so bitterly. Directed by Joe Harmston for independents Unique."

It will be disappointing if this is a huge departure from the original (a Radio 3 speciality) on a rare occasion when they're broadcasting a classic masterpiece.

But must tune in to find out!

[Stanley Stewart]

I also suspect that at 90 mins it's also a potted version of the play. Strindberg, like Eugene O'Neill, depends upon the power of accumulative power developing in its subtext to realise its tortured bleakness. Nevertheless, a welcome antidote to the return of "Downton Abbey" on the telly!

[DracoM]

Well, however it was edited, this was a simply sensational feat of acting, a complex, intricate and absorbing piece. Joe Dixon was outstanding as the Captain.
So glad I caught up with it.

Uncomfortable, challenging material, but gripping stuff.

[french frank]

Well, however it was edited, this was a simply sensational feat of acting, a complex, intricate and absorbing piece. Joe Dixon was outstanding as the Captain.
So glad I caught up with it.

Uncomfortable, challenging material, but gripping stuff.

I agree - a real tour-de-force from Joe Dixon, and Katy Stephens too. Difficult to say it was enjoyable, but I did like the line from the Nurse:

Captain (shoots himself in the mouth but finds the gun has been emptied): Did you take the bullets out?

Nurse: I was tidying up.

[aeolium]

Yes, it was a very good production. Not knowing the play, I don't know how much was lost in translation but the more concise adaptation helped to give the production pace. The drama revolved around the clash of wills between the Captain and Laura, and I thought the minor characters were rather shadowy, unlike in an Ibsen play. Both the main characters were excellent, especially Joe Dixon, though it was hard to conceive how such a capricious character with violent explosions of temper could have survived the regimentation of a military career. Given the possibly autobiographical influences on the play's themes, Strindberg seems to have tempered his portrayal of Laura's manipulative behaviour with some understanding of how it was partly provoked by her helplessness at the hands of the Captain's domineering and wilful character.

I liked the subtle use of the musical effects, as well.