Jennifer Saunders, one of the country’s best-loved comedians and admired actresses, returns to the stage of Bath Theatre Royal to star in a revival of Edward Bond’s The Sea, a dazzling blend of wild farce, high comedy, brilliant social satire and bleak poetic tragedy. The production runs from Thursday 22nd October to Saturday 7th November.

The production marks the first major revival of The Sea for almost two decades. She plays Mrs Rafi, one of the greatest comic roles in British theatre.

It is 1907, the height of the Edwardian era. A wild storm shakes a small East Anglian seaside village to its core. Amid the confusion, all the attention is focused on the village’s self-appointed ‘First Lady’ Mrs Rafi, as she prepares her ladies for an amateur dramatic performance of Orpheus and Eurydice.

Jennifer Saunders returns to Bath following her previous appearance starring as Madame Arcati in Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit. The production went on to have a record-breaking West End production. As a comedian she is remembered for the sketch show French and Saunders, for which she and Dawn French received a BAFTA Fellowship. She also starred with Joanna Lumley in Absolutely Fabulous.

The cast is completed by Sean Delaney as Willy Carson, Lloyd Hutchinson as Evens, Daniel Rainford as Hollarcut, Robert Mountford as Vicar, David Tarkenter as Carter, Joe Shire as Thompson, Holly Godliman as Rose Jones, Lucy Briers as Jessica Tilehouse, Nia Gwynne as Mafanwy Price, Meg Basham as Jilly, Camilla Anvar as Rachel, Connie Walker as Davis, Elliot Goodhill as Colin, and ensemble John Vernon, Sydney Spencer, Lincoln James and Theo Birakos.

Director Jonathan Munby has a career spanning classical and contemporary work across the UK and internationally, including major productions for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Donmar Warehouse, Young Vic and Shakespeare’s Globe.

Playwright, poet and theatre theorist Edward Bond’s play The Sea originally premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in London in May 1973, before being revived at the National Theatre in 1991 and at Theatre Royal Haymarket in 2008 starring Eileen Atkins and David Haig.

Photograph of Jennifer Saunders in rehearsal by Marc Brenner