Rupert Everett to star in John Mortimer’s ”A Voyage Around My Father” tour

BAFTA and Golden Globe nominee Rupert Everett (My Best Friend’s Wedding, The Importance of Being Earnest, Shrek 2) will star in a new production of John Mortimer’s celebrated autobiographical play A Voyage Around My Father.

Mortimer, a British lawyer and writer, first wrote the personal piece in 1963. It explores his relationship with his father, a blind barrister who was both physically and emotionally distant from his son.

The play is structured as a series of flashbacks, with the main character, Mortimer himself, reflecting on his life with his father, who is portrayed as a witty and cantankerous man who takes pleasure in ridiculing his son’s efforts to become a writer. The play also depicts Mortimer’s struggles with his own homosexuality.

A Voyage Around My Father has been adapted for television and film several times, including a 1982 TV movie starring Laurence Olivier as the father and Alan Bates as the son, and a 2006 TV movie starring Jim Broadbent and Matthew Macfadyen.

The new production will open at Theatre Royal Bath, with performances from 28 September to 7 October 2023, before embarking on a UK tour. Venues and schedule are to be announced.

The piece is directed by Richard Eyre, with design by Bob Crowley and lighting by Hugh Vanstone.

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