Jonathan Miller directs Sowerby’s Rutherford & Son for Broadsides
Jonathan Miller is returning to the British stage for the first time in five years to direct Githa Sowerby’s 1912 play Rutherford and Son for Halifax-based touring company Northern Broadsides.
Set in early 1890s industrial Yorkshire, Rutherford and Son tells the
story of iron-fisted John Rutherford as he battles the scheming
rebellion of his younger son and his daughter’s scandalous love-affair,
while fighting to prevent the legacy of the family glassworks from
shattering.
Rutter, who last collaborated with Miller on a Royal Shakespeare Company production of The Taming of the Shrew in 1987, said: “Jonathan’s delight in the play and our home venue at Dean Clough, a
former mill, is very fitting for the robust domestic and industrial
battle that is at the heart of Rutherford and Son. He will be the
company’s first guest director – a welcome and exhilarating influence.”
Miller, whose most recent directing credits include The Cherry Orchard (Sheffield Crucible) and Hamlet (Tobacco Factory, Bristol), said he was “absolutely thrilled” about his latest project, adding: “Earlier this year Barrie invited me up to Halifax to visit Northern
Broadsides’ home at the Viaduct Theatre in Halifax and I was totally
overcome with the venue’s wonderful intimate performance space which is
such an exciting challenge and delight for both a director and actor.”
The production will be designed by Isabella Bywater. Casting and touring dates are still to be announced.
Prior to Rutherford and Son, Northern Broadsides, who are celebrating their 20th
anniversary this year, will stage Deborah
McAndrew’s new adaptation of A Government Inspector, which relocates
the play to a small town in Yorkshire and promises a “uniquely Broadsides
blend of muck and brass”.
