Theatre News

North East Premiere for Rutherford & Son

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5 August 2009

Rutherford & Son, a play by Gateshead playwright Githa Sowerby, will receive its North East premiere at Northern Stage on 21 September, a century after it amazed West End and Broadway audiences with its candid portrayal of the industrial North at the turn of the century and the role of women in Edwardian society.

Set in Tyneside, 1912, John Rutherford’s glass making empire is in trouble. A brutal industrialist who has sacrificed his children for the family firm, he is about to count the true cost of his tyranny. With his son-and-heir set on renouncing the family business and his daughter embroiled in a scandalous love affair, the future looks bleak indeed.

The cast includes Tracy Gillman, Laura Haddock, Adam Henderson Scott, Val Mclane, Michelle Newell, Fred Pearson, Dickon Tyrrell, Ross Waiton. Directed by Richard Beecham, with designer Naomi Dawson, lighting designer Anna Watson with sound and composition by Jon Nicholls.

Rutherford & Son plays at Northern Stage from 21 September (previews from 18 September) to 3 October 2009. Tickets are priced from £5.50 to £19.00.