Harper Regan
by Simon Stephens
Directed by David Griffiths
WARNING: This play contains content and language that may offend.
Harper Regan is a bittersweet drama of family life and a compassionate study of the emotional journey a brave and likeable woman undertakes in an attempt to make sense of her life after it has been blighted by several different kinds of crisis.
Harper, a working mum living in Uxbridge, asks her boss for time off to visit her dying father in Stockport. After a brief encounter with a teenager she believes she knows, and, treading carefully through a typical family scene with her husband and daughter, she leaves.
In the course of her northern odyssey, Harper encounters strange men in Stockport pubs and Manchester hotel rooms, before confronting both the mum she hasn’t seen in two years, and the disquieting truths about her own family life.
Harper Regan premiered at the National Theatre in 2008 and Simon Stephens’ sharp, gritty and, at times, witty treatment of a mid-life search for truth has a perfect setting in the BLT bar.
CAST:
Harper Regan : Hilary Cordery
Elwood Barnes / Duncan Woolley : Philip Cohen
Tobias Rich / Martin Ashton : Daniel Ryan
Seth Regan : Mike Savill
Sarah Regan : Rebecca Riddlestone
Justine Rose : Kamila Gorecka
Mickey Nestor : Joe Dominic
James Fortune : David Griffiths
Alison Woolley : Lesley Robins