Fatherland is the debut play by Nancy Farino, showing at Hampstead Theatre from later this week.
“Only good things happen to Winston Smith. Or so he keeps telling himself. Winston loves his job as a life coach, and is even hoping to write a book to share his wisdom more widely. There’s just the small matter of a negligence lawsuit to deal with first…
His daughter Joy is tired. Of holding things together. Of pretending to be okay. And of every relationship in her life demanding more than she has to give.
The solution? A spontaneous road trip to County Mayo, in search of their long-lost Irish roots. On a converted school bus with mood lighting, questionable plumbing, and no clear plan; Winston takes Joy on a search for their past by way of hiding from the here and now.”
Where: Hampstead Theatre Downstairs
When: 31 Oct – 29 Nov
Ticket link: https://www.hampsteadtheatre.com/whats-on/2025/fatherland/#details
Nancy tells us more about her play.
Fatherland is your debut play. Where did the idea for it come from, and was the choice of the character name of Winston Smith a deliberate choice (from Orwell’s 1984)?
Fatherland is the amalgamation of wanting to write about a few things; father-daughter relationships – the realisation that your parents are, in fact, also fallible people.
Life’s seasonality – I read a brilliant book called Wintering by Katherine May that really re-shaped the way that I would view dark periods of life – ‘winters’ as she calls them.
The idea of one’s first true ‘winter’ and how completely bewildering it can be compared with those people who seem to go through life practically frostbitten but never truly acknowledge it all – and ultimately the notion that no matter how dark or cold the ‘winter’, that spring will come again.
And, of course, the actual massive school bus my dad did convert into a mobile home. An old plan to go on a road trip on it got me thinking. The road trip never actually materialised but here we are!
And, no, I wish the name ‘Winston Smith’ was some kind of intellectual commentary but it’s not. I might start telling people it is.
Fatherland‘s setting with a road trip and a converted bus sounds like it could be a challenge in terms of direction and design?
Setting a play on a moving vehicle felt like a really good idea at the time – considering it’s quite the challenge we’re really lucky to have Tessa Walker as director and Debbie Duru as designer.
I couldn’t imagine a better director for the play than Tessa. She’s got such a great understanding and vision for the show and has created a really lovely room to work in.
Her insights on the characters and the story overall have massively shaped the play from a writing perspective, too.
And Debbie’s design completely captures the whole spirit of the show whilst making the impossible (a huge bus on stage) possible in the most creative way.
Road trips are often a place to find unusual and humorous situations, as well as close connections. What can audiences expect from Fatherland?
The play should be funny, tender and engaging – the road trip should be disastrous.
Taking myself out of the equation for a second, the entire cast and team behind the show are so immensely talented and it’s been just amazing watching it all come together.
I’ve also laughed a lot. I hope audiences will do the same!
What’s next for this story and for you as a writer?
I have a few projects in the mix but Fatherland definitely holds the dearest place in my heart.
I’m so grateful for Hampstead Theatre all their support and hard work on my debut and excited to see where the play goes!