A brand new stage adaptation of beloved British comedy The Good Life is set to open in Bath, appearing at the Theatre Royal from Thursday 7th to Saturday 16th October prior to a UK tour.
The acclaimed cast includes actor and comedian Rufus Hound as Tom Good, actress and presenter Preeya Kalidas as Margo Leadbetter, Dominic Rowan as Jerry Leadbetter, and Sally Tatum as Barbara Good. The cast also features Nigel Betts and Tessa Churchard who play multiple roles. The new comedy written by Jeremy Sams is based on the classic television series by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey, which entertained countless millions in the 1970s.
Remember the Goods - Tom and Barbara, suburban eco-warriors? And their next-door neighbours Margo and Jerry Leadbetter, desperately trying to maintain the Surbiton status quo? Jeremy Sams' comedy leads the well-loved characters through uproarious adventures, some old, some new and often (even today) hilariously familiar. This new play celebrates a time when, whatever our differences, we still managed to get on with our neighbours.
This world premiere production, also directed by Jeremy Sams, will be the first time that the iconic characters of neighbours the Goods and the Leadbetters will be seen on stage. Beloved BBC comedy The Good Life ran on British television from 1975 to 1978 starring Richard Briers, Felicity Kendal, Penelope Keith and Paul Eddington.
Rufus Hound, who plays Tom Good, is an award-winning actor, comedian and presenter equally at home with roles on screen, in series including Doctor Who, Cucumber, Hounded and on the stage. His many theatre credits include One Man Two Guvnors, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Everybody's Talking About Jamie in the West End; Don Quixote for the Royal Shakespeare Company; Present Laughter and Neville’s Island at Chichester Festival Theatre; and his award-winning role as Mr Toad in The Wind In The Willows at the London Palladium, on UK tour and via cinema broadcast. Rufus also originated the role of Dad in the RSC’s production of The Boy In The Dress. His many wide-ranging television credits also include the comedy series Trollied on Sky and Zapped on the Dave channel; Let’s Dance for Sport Relief; Never Mind The Buzzcocks; Countdown; Celebrity Juice; Top of the Pops and Rufus is the voice of Waffle The Wonder Dog for CBeebies. On BBC Radio 4 he presents My Teenage Diary, a comedy show which invites famous guests to revisit their formative years. His previous appearances at the Theatre Royal Bath include What The Butler Saw in 2017 and Dusty in 2018.
Preeya Kalidas, who plays Margo Leadbetter, has worked extensively across stage and screen in a hugely versatile career. She made history as the first British Asian female to play the lead in a musical when she originated the role of Priya in the West End production of Bombay Dreams. She starred in the award-winning feature films Four Lions and Bend It Like Beckham, and played the role of Amira Shah in more than 130 episodes of BBC’s EastEnders. Elsewhere on screen, Preeya played the title role in BAFTA nominated Bollywood Carmen, starred in Channel 4’s BAFTA award-winning Britz and played Carrie in BBC’s Mistresses. She also appeared as Dr Maya Dutta in Jed Mercurio’s hit BBC series Bodies, and played the roles of Afshan in BBC’s Banglatown Banquet and Assma in BBC drama England Expects. On stage, Preeya was nominated for an Olivier Award when she originated the role of Pinky in Bend It Like Beckham the Musical at the Phoenix Theatre; she also starred in the West End in Joseph And His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, School Of Rock and most recently in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie.
Dominic Rowan appears as Jerry Leadbetter. His many stage credits include Under The Blue Sky and The Misanthrope in the West End, as well as performances at the Royal Shakespeare Company, Donmar Warehouse, Royal Exchange, Royal Court Theatre, London’s Old Vic and Globe Theatres, and numerous productions at the National Theatre. On screen he played Charles Powell in The Crown, Jacob Thorne in Law & Order UK, Mr Elton in the film Emma, Tim Mitford in North Square and Harry Slater in No Bananas; as well as roles in Doc Martin, Holby City, Silent Witness, Catastrophe, Midsomer Murders and Trial & Retribution. Dominic has previously performed at Bath’s Theatre Royal in Private Lives in 1999 and Stepping Out in 2016.
The role of Barbara Good is played by Sally Tatum, whose many stage credits include A Day in the Life of Joe Egg for Liverpool Everyman; A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Shakespeare’s Globe; Gaslight for London’s Old Vic; and As You Like It, Twelfth Night and Solstice for the RSC. Her television credits include the roles of Lily in the series Episodes, Jenny in My Mad Fat Diary and, most recently, Miss Dixon in American crime drama series Pennyworth; as well as appearances in Boy Meets Girl, The Bill, Doctors, Holby City and Miss Austen Regrets. Also a comedian and writer, Sally was placed on the BAFTA Rocliffe Forum List for emerging comedy writers in 2016. At Bath’s Theatre Royal, Sally has starred in the Main House in Present Laughter in 2016 and This Happy Breed in 2011, and in Red Light Winter at the Ustinov Studio in 2012.
Nigel Betts’ theatre credits include One Man Two Guv'nors and War Horse at the National Theatre and in the West End, Albion at the Almeida Theatre, Three Days in the Country at National Theatre, and The 39 Steps, Up 'n' Under, Henry IV and As You Like It in the West End. His many television roles include playing Eddie Hope in Emmerdale, Ray in The Catherine Tate Show, George in Grease Monkeys, Tony in Boy Meets Girl, Mr Armitage in Doctor Who and Alan Walker in You, Me & Them. He has recently appeared on our screens in King Gary, All Creatures Great and Small, The A Word and Father Brown, and will soon be seen in a new four-part BBC drama based on the novel Ridley Road.
Tessa Churchard’s many theatre credits include the West End stage productions of The 39 Steps, As You Desire Me and Noises Off; Remember This at the National Theatre; and Galileo’s Daughter, Man And Superman and Don Juan for The Peter Hall Company at the Theatre Royal Bath in 2004. Tessa’s screen credits include The Coroner, EastEnders, Call The Midwife, Casualty, Doctors, Family Affairs, Jeeves And Wooster and The Bill.
Jeremy Sams' directing credits include the National Theatre's 2000 West End and Broadway revival of Noises Off, the West End musical Spend, Spend, Spend, the international tour of The Sound of Music and Oklahoma! at Chichester Festival Theatre.
The Good Life appears at the Theatre Royal Bath from Thursday 7th October to Saturday 16th October. Tickets are on sale at the Theatre Royal Bath Box Office on 01225 448844 and online at www.theatreroyal.org.uk
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