Black Country thespians step into the Oscar-winning shoes of Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Coleman for Oldbury Rep's production of The Father
Black Country thespian Mike Venables will be stepping into some illustrious shoes as he takes Sir Anthony Hopkins' role in an Oscar-winning play.
Mike will play the leading role of Andre in Oldbury Rep's production of The Father, an elderly man struggling to cope with the onset of dementia.
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He is following in the footsteps of Hopkins, who at the age of 83 received the Oscar for 'best actor' in a 2020 Hollywood adaptation of the play, which some critics lauded as the finest performance of his long career.
It was the second time Hopkins received the award for Best Actor.
Laura Cooney plays Andre's long-suffering daughter Anne, the part played by Olivia Colman in the film.
Mike says that while the play is about a serious matter, there was also humour in it which showed that there can be hope in even the darkest of circumstances.
"He does have a humorous side to him," he says. "He has known his daughter for all her life, so he doesn't feel he needs to perform for her, but when he gets a young carer it rejuvenates him, and he claims to be a tap dancer, which he isn't."
The show opens at 7.30pm on Saturday night at the Barlow Theatre in Spring Walk, Langley, takes a break on Saturday, and is then on at 7.30 each night from Monday to the following Saturday.
Tickets priced £10-12, can be purchased by telephoning 0121 552 2761 or through the website oldburyrep.org
