Seven new shows added to The Theatre Royal Bath's 2024 programme

The Theatre Royal has announced seven new shows which are bound for Bath next year, plus casting news for Sleuth which visits in February. 

Todd Boyce is set to star in Anthony Shaffer’s masterpiece, Sleuth, when the ultimate thriller visits Bath from Monday 12 to Saturday 17 February. After terrorising Coronation Street’s residents as the notorious baddie Stephen Reid, Todd Boyce swops the cobbles for the stage when he takes on the role of a famous mystery writer in Shaffer’s dark psychological thriller. An intriguing study of human conflict, jealousy and manipulation, Sleuth won a Tony Award for Best Play and became a hugely successful film in 1972 starring Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine.

Newly announced productions include Adam Kay’s best-selling show, Undoctored, which tours to the Theatre Royal for one night only on Sunday 18 February. The nation’s twelfth-favourite doctor comes to Bath fresh from a record-breaking run at the Edinburgh Fringe. Undoctored follows on from Kay’s literary sensation This Is Going To Hurt, which sold three million copies and became a multi-BAFTA-winning BBC series. Prepare to laugh and cry with Adam’s unique tales of life on and off the wards.

Willy Russell’s legendary musical Blood Brothers makes a welcome return to Bath from Tuesday 9 to Saturday 13 April. Few musicals have received quite such acclaim as Bill Kenwright’s production which remains one of only three shows to surpass 10,000 performances in London’s West End. Telling the captivating tale of twins separated at birth only to meet again with tragic consequences, the much-loved score includes the songs Bright New Day, Marilyn Monroe and Tell Me It’s Not True.

From Tuesday 16 to Saturday 20 April, Blackeyed Theatre presents Sherlock Holmes: The Valley of Fear. Adapted for the stage by Nick Lane, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s thrilling final Sherlock Holmes novel is crammed full of adventure, mystery and, of course, one or two rather brilliant deductions. A mysterious coded message warning of imminent danger draws Holmes and Dr Watson into a tale of intrigue and murder stretching from Baker Street to an ancient moated manor house to the bleak Pennsylvanian Vermissa Valley. Original music, stylish theatricality and magical story-telling combine for an unforgettable theatrical experience.

John Godber’s Bouncers tours to the Theatre Royal for the first time from Monday 22 to Saturday 27 April presented by the John Godber Company. With a pumping 80s soundtrack featuring modern classics by Salt ‘n’ Pepa, Foreigner, Shalamar, Depeche Mode and many more, this new production takes us back to the glorious highs when disco was king and everyone lived for the weekend. One of the most popular plays of the last fifty years, Bouncers has become an international sensation, winning awards across the globe. Often imitated but never beaten, the original Bouncers is eye-wateringly funny, celebratory and as relevant today as it ever was.

The critically acclaimed West End and Broadway production of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic 1935 spy thriller, The 39 Steps, returns to the Theatre Royal from Tuesday 25 to Saturday 29 June. Patrick Barlow’s wonderfully inventive adaptation of this gripping comedy thriller features four actors playing 139 roles in 100 minutes of fast-paced action-packed fun. The smash hit Olivier and Tony Award-winning comedy has taken London’s West End and Broadway by storm and delighted audiences in thirty-nine different countries since it premiered on stage in 2005.

The newly reformed London City Ballet launch their first tour in almost thirty years next summer prior to a season at Sadler’s Wells. Appearing at the Theatre Royal Bath from Wednesday 17 to Saturday 20 July, an international company of dancers will present Resurgence featuring a revival of Kenneth MacMillan’s 1972 one-act ballet Ballade unseen in Europe for over fifty years, and a new commission by Olivier Award winner Arielle Smith.

Also announced for next summer, the Broadway and UK smash hit musical Sister Act tours to the Theatre Royal from Tuesday 6 to Saturday 17 August, direct from London, with a stunning cast led by West End star Landi Oshinowo (Shrek, Matilda The Musical, Big Fish) as Deloris, everyone’s favourite nun on the run.

Disco diva Deloris’s life takes a surprising turn when she witnesses a murder. Placed under protective custody she is hidden in the one place she shouldn’t be found – a convent! Encouraged to assist the struggling choir, she helps her fellow sisters find their true voices as she unexpectedly rediscovers her own. Featuring original music by Tony and eight-time Oscar Award-winner Alan Menken (Disney’s Aladdin, Enchanted) and songs inspired by Motown, soul and disco, this heavenly musical is joyous and uplifting in equal measures.