Theatre Royal Bath can today announce that Lily Allen will star as the enigmatic and destructive Hedda Gabler, one of theatre’s most irresistible heroines, in a thrilling new version of Henrik Ibsen’s masterpiece, Hedda, opening in Bath and appearing at the Ustinov Studio from Friday 25 July to Saturday 23 August 2025.
Tickets for this new production, written and directed by Matthew Dunster, and staged by Theatre Royal Bath Productions, go on sale to Theatre Royal members from 4th May with general booking opening on 17th May.
Returning from her honeymoon and already bored with her marriage, Hedda finds herself shattered by a destructive attraction to a seemingly brilliant but dissolute writer and blackmailed by an older predatory man. Suffocated and betrayed by these violent forces, there is only one choice left to her…
The multi-award-winning star of stage, screen and music, Lily Allen has established herself as one of our most popular actresses and performers. Her West End appearance in the stage phenomenon 2:22 A Ghost Story earned her the WhatsOnStage Award for Best Actress and an Olivier Award nomination. She also starred in the highly-acclaimed The Pillowman in the West End. On screen, she has portrayed the iconic Elizabeth Taylor in How To Build A Girl and her music career has seen her win more than thirty awards, including Grammys, Ivor Novello and BRIT Awards, and a succession of number one hit singles and albums.
The creative team for Hedda will be led by sought-after director and writer Matthew Dunster. A former Associate Director of Shakespeare’s Globe and the Young Vic, he has been nominated for four Olivier Awards, and his Broadway production of Hangmen was nominated for five Tony Awards. His West End productions include Hangmen, True West, Shirley Valentine and The Pillowman. His production of 2:22 A Ghost Story, where he began his working relationship with Lily Allen, broke records in the West End and went on to achieve international acclaim. At the end of this year, he will direct Conor McPherson’s highly anticipated stage adaptation of The Hunger Games.
Image: Lily Allen
Lily Allen says: “I am absolutely thrilled to be given the chance of playing Hedda Gabler. I adore working with Matthew Dunster and can’t wait to explore this piece with him. I’m very excited to bring her to Bath next summer, in the intimacy of the Ustinov Studio, it’s going to be great.”
Matthew Dunster says: “Lily and I were talking about women we knew that were trapped in relationships where men had all the power, and how these twenty-first century women were still being controlled and destroyed. The conversation turned to plays where we could explore those ideas. We thought of Hedda Gabler and the connections were obvious, exciting and devastating. I relish watching Lily challenge herself, she pushes me, and I really value our ongoing collaboration. We want to offer up a Hedda that is absolutely for now.”
Further cast and creative team are to be announced.
General booking for Hedda at the Ustinov Studio at the Theatre Royal Bath opens on Friday 17 May 2024. Theatre Royal Bath members will be able to book in advance, with Associate Booking from 4 May and Friends Booking from 7 May. To book tickets contact the Theatre Royal Bath Box Office on +44 (0)1225 448844, or book online at www.theatreroyal.org.uk.
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