Theatre Royal Bath reopens this month as globally renowned actor Ralph Fiennes directs and stars in a world premiere stage adaptation of T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets

Theatre Royal Bath welcomes audiences back to live theatre when it reopens this month with a brand-new stage adaptation of T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets, directed by and starring Ralph Fiennes. The world premiere production of Four Quartets opens at Bath’s Theatre Royal, appearing from Tuesday 25 May to Saturday 5 June, before playing Northampton’s Royal & Derngate and touring to Oxford, Cambridge, Southampton, Malvern and York.

Nobel Prize winner T.S. Eliot is one of the giants of modern literature. Compelling, moving and symphonic, Four Quartets was the culminating achievement of his career as a poet, offering four interwoven meditations on the nature of time, faith, and the quest for spiritual enlightenment. Mostly written before WWII when the closure of playhouses during the Blitz interrupted Eliot’s work in theatre, the Four Quartets (Burnt Norton, East Coker, The Dry Salvages and Little Gidding), contain some of the most exquisite and unforgettable reflections upon surviving periods of national crisis.

Image: Ralph Fiennes in rehearsal for Four Quarters. Credit Matt Humphrey

Ralph Fiennes’ distinguished stage work is matched by performances in some of the greatest films of our time. The winner of a Tony Award for playing Hamlet, he has performed many of theatre’s most iconic roles, with recent credits including Antony and Cleopatra at the National Theatre, Richard III at the Almeida and The Master Builder at London’s Old Vic. His numerous film roles include The English Patient; The Grand Budapest Hotel; The Constant Gardner; Skyfall; In Bruges; The Dig; The Harry Potter series, and a BAFTA award winning performance in Schindler’s List.

Four Quartets is directed by Ralph Fiennes who is joined by a remarkable creative team including Hildegard Bechtler (Designer) who won an Olivier Award for After the Dance at the National Theatre and received nominations for Top Hat and Oresteia; Tim Lutkin (Lighting), winner of an Olivier Award for Chimerica and Christopher Shutt (Sound), winner of a Tony Award for War Horse. The Assistant Director is Eva Sampson and the Movement Director is Fin Walker.

Four Quartets is co-produced by Theatre Royal Bath Productions and Royal & Derngate, Northampton.

Four Quartets appears at the Theatre Royal Bath from Tuesday 25 May to Saturday 5 June. All advance tickets are sold out. Any returns will be available to purchase from 12 noon on the day of the performance via the Theatre Royal Bath Box Office on 01225 448844 or online at www.theatreroyal.org.uk