A Hard Time to Be a Father by Fay Weldon
4 Extra Debut. A new father is put to bed and cared for as though he has given birth. Stars Robert Glenister.
Robert Glenister stars in Weldon’s comic satire set in the bustling ward of a large city hospital.
He is a young man being treated for couvade, the South Sea Island custom whereby on the arrival of a new child the father is put to bed and cared for as if he were physically affected and as though he had given birth himself.
As patients arrive and tempers fray, Weldon's sharply observed comedy exposes the absurdities of modern life, relationships and gender expectations.
The Young Man ... Robert Glenister
Nurse ... Hilary MacLean
Delia ... Carolyn Backhouse
Triage Nurse ... Janet Dale
Caring Woman ... June Barrie
Mrs Oliphant ... Phyllida Nash
Receptionist ... Jenny Funnell
Rugby Player ... John Telfer
Al ... Clarence Smith
Toff ... Christian Rodska
Male Nurse ... Cornelius Garrett
Seraph ... Jessica Jones-Berney
Writer: Fay Weldon
Directed by Shaun MacLoughlin
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1995.
On radio
Broadcasts
- Next Tuesday15:00BBC Radio 4 Extra
- Next Tuesday21:00BBC Radio 4 Extra
- Next Wednesday05:00BBC Radio 4 Extra
