When Rutherford and Son premiered in London in 1912, the family drama drew comparisons with Ibsen and then drew amazement wen the public discovered it was written by a woman, Githa Sowerby. The revival on tour in the UK, with the dialect tweaked by Blake Morrison, has received superlative reviews.
★★★★ The Guardian
★★★★ The Times
★★★★ Daily Telegraph
★★★★ The Sunday Times
★★★★ Whatsonstage.com
★★★★ The Independent
From the Rose “Your father is a control freak. The family business is a millstone round your neck Home feels like a prison And yet you have dreams…
This powerful drama is an unflinching portrayal of an Edwardian family on the brink of collapse. John Rutherford is a tyrannical patriarch, blind to the hopes and feelings of his family. The success of the family firm takes precedence over everything… even happiness. There are few dramas as uncompromising or rewarding as this. Northern Broadsides brings its trademark gritty, no-nonsense approach to this astonishing play that sees Artistic Director, Barrie Rutter, taking the role of the imperious John Rutherford.”