A Hard Time to Be a Father by Fay Weldon

A young man is being treated for couvade – a South Sea Island custom.

On the arrival of a new child, the father is put to bed and cared for as if he were physically affected - and as if he’d given birth himself.

Fay Weldon’s comic satire set in the bustling ward of a large city hospital.

Starring Robert Glenister.

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.