THE FATHER, Florian Zeller's award-winning black comedy, is expected to provide a memorable theatrical experience when it heads into Worcestershire later this month.

The play, which arrives at Malvern’s Festival Theatre for just under a one week run from Tuesday, June 16, uses the nature of theatre to convey the disorientation of dementia, and will be starring Kenneth Cranham as the man losing his grip on reality.

Cranham, Rebecca Charles, Colin Tierney and Jade Williams will all reprise their original roles following a hugely successful, critically acclaimed run last year at the Ustinov Studio in Bath and they are joined on this national tour by new cast members Claire Skinner and Jim Sturgeon.

Now 80 years old, Andre was once a tap dancer. He lives with his daughter Anne and her husband Antoine. Or was he an engineer whose daughter Anne lives in London with her new lover, Pierre? The thing is, he is still wearing his pyjamas, and he can’t find his watch. He is starting to wonder if he’s losing control.

The author of this intriguing and compelling black comedy, Florian Zeller, has been hailed as ‘one of the hottest literary talents in France’ (Independent) and The Father (Le Père) was the recipient of three Molière Awards in 2014, including for Best New Play.

The play has been adapted by Christopher Hampton who has translated plays by Ibsen, Molière, Chekhov and Yasmina Reza (including Art and Life x 3). He won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for the adaptation of his own play, Dangerous Liaisons. He was nominated again in 2007 for adapting Ian McEwan’s novel Atonement. His television work includes adaptations of The History Man and Hotel du Lac.

Nominated for a Tony Award for Stephen Daldry’s An Inspector Calls on Broadway, Kenneth Cranham‘s numerous stage credits also include The Cherry Orchard (National Theatre), The Homecoming (Almeida Theatre) and West End productions of Entertaining Mr Sloane, Loot, The Birthday Party and Gaslight. Screen credits range from the title role in Shine on Harvey Moon to Maleficent, Hot Fuzz, Oliver! and Hellbound: Hellraiser II.

Rebecca Charles who plays Woman, Claire Skinner (Anne) and Jim Sturgeon (Man) boast numerous theatre, film and television credits and will be familiar names and faces to many, as will those of other cast members such as Colin Tierney and Jade Williams. TV programmes such as Vera, DCI Banks, Foyle’s War, Sense and Sensibility and films including Sleepy Hollow, Mrs Brown and Bridget Jones’s Diary have featured many of the cast.

The Father is at Malvern for five days until Saturday, June 20.