Theatre Royal Bath has announced seven new shows which are set to appear in the Main House next year. Tickets for the new productions are on sale now to Members for priority booking, with General Booking opening on 31 October.
Following sell-out seasons in London and New York, the smash hit musical Cruel Intentions will tour to Bath for the first time appearing from Wednesday 23rd to Saturday 26th April. Based on the iconic 1999 film and inspired by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ Les Liaisons Dangereuses, the show features a host of 90s pop classics including the songs of Britney Spears, Boyz II Men, Christina Aguilera, TLC, R.E.M., Ace of Base, Natalie Imbruglia, The Verve, *NSYNC and many more.
A new production of April de Angelis' bawdily funny and deeply poignant play, Playhouse Creatures starring Anna Chancellor is bound for the Theatre Royal from Monday 28 April to Saturday 3 May. It’s the swinging (16)60s and “the merry monarch” Charles II is on the throne. After violent civil war, England’s theatres have finally reopened and, for the first time, women are allowed to perform in public. In the West End, grande dame Mrs Betterton rules the roost. But there’s a new face in town: an orange-seller with dreams of stardom. Playhouse Creatures celebrates five women grabbing their newfound freedom and making their way in an unfamiliar world. But at what price? Anna Chancellor’s numerous film and television credits include The Hour, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Pramface, The Split, Jupiter Moon, Kavanagh QC and, most recently, Rain Dogs, Fifteen Love and My Lady Jane.
Alan Ayckbourn’s comedy Just Between Ourselves is set to tour to the Theatre Royal from Monday 5 to Saturday 10 May presented by London Classic Theatre. Five birthdays, two unhappy marriages and one possessive mother feature in Ayckbourn’s 1976 comic drama. Dennis tinkers in his garage, cheerfully indifferent to wife Vera’s impending breakdown. Marjorie hovers in the background, making tea and finding fault. Neil has planned a birthday surprise for his wife, but Pam doesn’t share his enthusiasm, preoccupied by frustrations of her own. In perhaps his most emotionally charged play, Alan Ayckbourn masterfully evokes a world of hidden tensions and suppressed hostility as he expertly navigates the tightrope between comedy and tragedy, guiding the audience towards an hilarious, yet chilling finale.
Opera della Luna will present its most colourful and popular production ever, Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado, at the Theatre Royal from Tuesday 13 to Saturday 17 May. Set in the zany sparkling world of modern fashion houses, with costumes inspired by Versace and Jean-Paul Gautier, The Mikado promises a riot of gorgeous and bizarre creations. Audiences can expect sequins, stunning gowns, glorious singing, and of course, the company’s inimitable brand of mad-cap humour.
Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures company make a welcome return with The Midnight Bell appearing at the Theatre Royal from Tuesday 20 to Saturday 24 May as part of a nationwide tour. World famous choreographer Matthew Bourne takes audiences inside The Midnight Bell, a tavern where one particular lonely-hearts club gather to play out their lovelorn affairs of the heart; bitter comedies of longing, frustration, betrayal and redemption. Set in the pubs and fog-bound streets of Soho and Fitzrovia, this award-winning dance work is inspired by the great English novelist Patrick Hamilton (Twenty Thousand Streets Under The Sky, Hangover Square) who created some of the most authentic fiction of his era; stories borne out of years of social interactions with the working man and woman at his favourite location - the London Pub.
Following the success of Blue Beard this year, Wise Children return to Bath in 2025 as theatre legend Emma Rice takes on film legend Alfred Hitchcock in a riotously funny reworking of North By Northwest appearing at the Theatre Royal from Tuesday 27 to Saturday 31 May. Turning the original thriller on its head, expect glamour, romance, jeopardy and a liberal sprinkling of tender truths as six shape-shifting performers, a fabulous 1950s soundtrack and a LOT of hats take centre stage in this dazzling production which plays with the heart, mind and soul.
There’s a treat in store for crime thriller fans from Tuesday 17 to Saturday 21 June as Superintendent Roy Grace is back in a brand-new Peter James stage adaptation of the bestselling novel, Picture You Dead. At home in Brighton, DSI Grace investigates a cold case that leads him to the secretive world of fine art, but beneath the respectable veneer lurks a dark underworld of greed, deception and murder. When one unsuspecting couple unearth a potentially priceless masterpiece, they discover that their dream find is about to turn into their worst nightmare, and only Grace can stop them from paying the ultimate price.
This autumn at the Ustinov Studio, the Visiting Company Season continues apace with two new shows now added to next month’s programme. On Tuesday 19 November, Fort tours to Bath for one night only. In the middle of the night at an Iron Age hillfort in North Dorset, fifteen-year-old best friends, Viv and Daisy, wait for a ghost. Away from dysfunctional families and small-town gossip, up on Fort, Viv and Daisy can be entirely themselves. With so much beyond their control, Fort is their stomping ground and their escape, until the ghost turns up. Best friends for as long as they can remember, their bond has survived school bullies, witchcraft, jealousy and vengeful cows. But can it survive the ghost? Tabitha Hayward’s Fort was longlisted for the Bruntwood Prize 2022 and shortlisted for the Masterclass Pitch Your Play Award.
Also, now on sale and visiting the Ustinov Studio on Thursday 28 November, Fairytales for Grown-Ups present the Grateful & the Dead, a fierce, fast and unashamedly magical evening of performance storytelling by Ben Haggarty. Dark, comedic, and beautiful by turn, Ben delivers a story of initiations, intoxications, the repayment of debts, and the risks of chasing what you want most. A wild pursuit of a dream collides with frozen spit, psychic hare-hags, bizarre marriages, and strange helpers in the richly metaphorical world of a full-blooded fairytale for grown-ups. One of the UK’s most popular contemporary storytellers, Ben Haggerty is renowned for his passionate, playful, and physical performances of fairytale, epic and myth.
For full details of the Theatre Royal Bath’s upcoming programme in the Main House, Ustinov Studio and The Egg visit: theatreroyal.org.uk
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