Theatre returns to the Altrincham Garrick next month with a six-night run for an Edwardian drama that was ranked by the Royal National Theatre as one of the top 100 plays of the last century.
Written in 1912 by Githa Sowerby, Rutherford and Son was a huge initial success before dropping out of sight – but it was revived in the 1980s and has since been performed in the West End, Broadway and at the Royal Exchange in Manchester.
It will run at the Garrick from Monday April 3rd to Saturday April 8th, with tickets available now.
Rutherford and Son is set in an industrial town in the north of England, a few years before the First World War.
Mr Rutherford is a widower, but his house is far from empty: also living there are his spinster sister and his three grown children – Janet, John and Richard – along with John’s wife and their new baby. Rutherford owns a glass factory which was founded by his father, and which is one of the largest businesses in the town.
The house has an oppressive atmosphere to it, partly because of the winter settling in, but more because of the fear that Rutherford inspires in his family. The play comes to a climax when he is confronted by a family mutiny which threatens to destroy the family as well as the factory.
This play can be compared to Hindle Wakes, and Hobson’s Choice, both Garrick favourites, but the big difference is that it was written by a female dramatist – quite a rarity for the Edwardian Age. She originally published the play under her pen-name G K Sowerby but when it was revealed the author of the hit play was a woman she achieved instant celebrity.
Tickets are available from the Garrick box office on 0161 928 1677 or you can book online on the Altrincham Garrick Playhouse website.
This play is sponsored by FMS Furniture Specialists, a leading supplier of furniture for school, home and office and school.
