The Beloved Son Written and directed by Murray Watts. Performed by Andrew Harrison.
Henri Nouwen (1932 – 1996) was a Dutch Catholic priest, psychologist, and professor who reached the heights of academic success at Yale and Harvard before abandoning everything to join the community of L’Arche, Daybreak in Toronto. He became part of a life-sharing movement, seeking to make known the gifts of people with intellectual disabilities. To some Henri Nouwen put his brilliant career into reverse, risking the loss of reputation, to others his life was a prophetic challenge to church and society. The Beloved Son is a moving solo performance, exploring hope and longing, family dynamics, sexual and emotional crisis, and the profound insights of a man who became one of the greatest spiritual writers of the 20th century.
Murray Watts
In a career lasting nearly 50 years, Murray Watts has written many plays for theatre and radio and numerous screenplays for TV and film. Screenplays range from ‘The Dream’ for BBC starring Jeremy Irons to ‘The Miracle Maker’ for S4C/BBC/ICON, featuring the voices of Ralph Fiennes, William Hurt and Julie Christie. ‘The Miracle Maker’ won the Movieguide Epiphany Award on US TV in 2000.Theatre awards include the LWT Plays on Stage Award for ‘The Fatherland’, his play set in Soweto. In 2012 The Kings Head in London hosted a season of his plays. One of these, ‘Mr Darwin’s Tree’, premiered in Westminster Abbey in 2009. Both ‘Mr Darwin’s Tree’ and ‘Fire From Heaven’ – about Michael Faraday – have been toured with Andrew Harrison throughout the US.
Andrew Harrison
Andrew made his repertory debut in Exeter playing the leads in ‘A Chorus of Disapproval’ and ‘Serious Money’. Film credits: ‘An Ideal Husband’, ‘Dorian Grey’, ‘The Sea Change’ and ‘A Little Loving’. For TV: ‘The Life of Pepys’, ‘Miss Marple’, ‘You Rang M’Lord?’ ‘The Bill’, ‘Birds of a Feather’, ‘Beyond Narnia’ and ‘Summer in Transylvania’. With Murray Watts he has created six solo shows. “Mr. Darwin’s Tree” has toured extensively in the USA and has been presented in colleges in Beijing, Shanghai, Seoul, Nairobi and throughout the UK. ‘The Beloved Son’ is their latest collaboration.
The performance lasts for 80 minutes, without an intermission.
