Veteran gets forgetful in 'brilliant' new play

KENNETH ALAN TAYLOR

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VETERAN actor Kenneth Alan Taylor has rarely been as exited - and daunted - by a role than the title character he plays in the Coliseum's regional première of The Father (Friday until July 1).

It's about an elderly man, Andre - and yes, Kenneth's own age and that of the character match, both being 80 - who was a tap dancer and now lives with his daughter Anne and her husband. Or maybe he was an engineer, whose daughter Anne now lives in London with her new partner, Pierre. He can't quite remember which.

Andre's mind and memory are failing him, though the word dementia is never mentioned.

But that's not the reason Kenneth is daunted. It's simply that this has been one of the hardest plays to learn of the hundreds he has appeared in.

"I started learning it in January, and it's not that long since I've been working without the script," he admitted. "So in case anyone watching it thinks I'm forgeting my lines, it's in the script that he sounds forgetful, it's not me!

"It's just so tough to get right. Scenes will often be almost repeated with slight changes and different people and it's a devil to remember which one's which," he admitted.

"The chap who played it on Broadway said playing King Lear was a walk in the park by comparison..."

The play is a black comedy by French playwright and author Florian Zeller, written in 2012 and generally reckoned to be one of the most highly acclaimed new plays of the decade.

"I can't remember the last time I was so excited about a play. Daunted, yes, but really excited. It's an amazing role," Kenneth said. "Zeller is a remarkably talented man, an accomplished novelist as well as a playwright.

"You say this is about a man with some sort of dementia and people sort of turn away," he said. "But the truth is it's brilliant - quirky, often very funny and even something of a mystery, a thriller.

"It won the Molière prize for best play in French theatre in 2014, and it's had five-star reviews in Paris, London and New York in the past couple of years.

"I suggested it to Kevin (Shaw, the Coliseum's artistic boss and this play's director) two years ago but suggested the subject matter might be a problem. He loved it too and we've been trying since then to get the rights. This will be the first UK production outside London."

Kenneth stars alongside Kerry Peers, Jo Mousley and Helen Kay, plus Oldham favourite John Elkington and award-winning Manchester actor Colin Connor.

And in case you are wondering, this isn't Kenneth in some sort of theatre swansong. At 80 he isn't even semi-retired.

"Definitely not!" he said. "I've two or three things on the go in the next few months and of course I'm in Nottingham in November for my 34th panto there. We're doing Cinderella and I'm already looking forward to it."

• Check out more pictures of The Father on our picture sales page.