New Old Friends return to Bath’s Ustinov Studio to present A Christmas Getaway, a brand new story for the yuletide season inspired by P.G. Wodehouse, Noël Coward and classic British comedy.
Appearing from Monday 13th December to Saturday 8th January, this fast-paced, festive farce sees just four actors play multiple roles with lightning quick changes and all of the trademark flair which has earned award-winning New Old Friends their loyal following.
It’s been a tough year and the Jameson family are all planning to enjoy a Christmas Eve getaway at their soon-to-be sold country home. The catch is, everyone has planned to do it in secret; the daughter is with her lover, the mother is with the daughter’s fiancé, the father is with the neighbour, the maid is with the local oik, and the underpaid butler is eyeing up both the housekeeper and the valuables.
New Old Friends’ frantic Christmas catastrophe is written and directed by Feargus Woods Dunlop. The cast features Kirsty Cox (recently seen at the Theatre Royal Bath in Crimes, Camera, Action), Emile Clarke, Eamonn Fleming and Sedona Rose, who play multiple roles.
Founded in 2008, New Old Friends is a multi-award-winning theatre company dedicated to creating original comedy theatre, run by husband and wife team Feargus Woods Dunlop and Heather Westwell. This August, New Old Friends premiered Crimes, Camera, Action in the Theatre Royal Bath’s Main House prior to a national tour in spring 2022 and toured regionally with Crimes in Egypt. Last year saw New Old Friends release the first in a new audio drama series, Comedy Whodunits For Your Ears, with Crimes Against Christmas (OnComm Award winner) charting at number 2 in the Apple iTunes Fiction chart, as well as featuring on BBC Radio 4's Front Row. Recent audio instalments also include Crimes on Centre Court and Crimes of a Country Garden, both released earlier this year.
Feargus Woods Dunlop said: “We’ve been associated with Theatre Royal Bath for so long, indeed we even met each other in the foyer whilst working on a pantomime project, we’ve performed in all three of the spaces multiple times and we are thrilled to be presenting this brand new Christmas show for adults to compliment the excellent family fare in the Main House and The Egg. This is the first totally new show we have built since the pandemic and returning to a world of creation, joy and silliness has been glorious.”
Heather Dunlop said: “Whenever we build a new show we only ever have one goal in mind; to entertain our audiences to the fullest extent possible. For A Christmas Getaway we wondered what a classic British farce would look like when viewed through the New Old Friends prism of four actors multi-rolling, and we’re thrilled with the possibilities for comic chaos it has thrown up. We’re also huge fans of classic TV comedy so expect at least one nod to Morecambe & Wise’s fabulous Christmas specials.”
New Old Friends won the Creative Bath Award for Writing in both 2017 and 2018. The company’s previous shows include five installments of the hugely popular Crimes… series of comedy thrillers, including 2019’s spring hit Crimes on the Nile and Crimes on the Coast which played the Theatre Royal Bath in September 2019. In summer 2019, New Old Friends’ adaptation of Anthony Horowitz’s best-seller The Falcon’s Malteser enjoyed a six-week run at London’s Vaults Theatre, where it was highlighted by The Guardian as a Critics Choice for Best Family Show. Their family show, Swiss Family Robinson, premiered at The Core at Corby Cube during the 2019 Christmas season.
A Christmas Getaway appears at the Theatre Royal Bath from Monday 13th December to Saturday 8th January. 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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