PERENNIAL audiences favourite Felicity Kendal returns to Bath Theatre Royal in Tom Stoppard’s Indian In, from Tuesday 10th to Saturday 14th February. It is the first major revival of the play more 30 years and comes to Bath after a run at Hampstead Theatre. In the 1995 production, Felicity Kendal created the role of Flora Crewe. She…
WHILE it is a truth universally acknowledged that we all love Jane Austen (well, most of us do), we probably wouldn’t call ourselves superfans as best friends Charlotte and Ellie do, and they want you to join them at their exclusive Jane Austen Fan Club, on tour until 5th March. Hilarious and heartfelt, an evening…
LYME Regis has two famous literary connections – Jane Austen’s Persuasion and The French Lieutenant’s Woman, the best-known novel by long-time Lyme resident John Fowles. There was a 250th anniversary production of Jane Austen’s Persuasion at the Marine Theatre last year, and this year, from 11th to 14th February, the mysterious cloaked woman returns in…
RICHARD Brinsley Sheridan’s play The Rivals gave the world one of the greatest comic characters of all time – the marvellous Mrs Maloprop, whose mangled phrases have ensured her name has even entered the English language. At Bath Theatre Royal, from 27th to 31st January, the beautifully spoken Patricia Hodge takes on this hilarious harridan,…
WE all know the identity of Sherlock Holmes’s arch-nemesis, don’t we – but what if the real “killer” was the great detective’s creator? Find out more when Sherlock Holmes: The Death and Life comes to the Ustinov Studio at Bath Theatre Royal on Friday 30th and Saturday 31st January. The premise of this witty one-man…
THE creative ferment of Frome, Somerset’s most artistically active town, has produced a new play which draws on the writer-performer’s own experience as a taxi driver. Rank, by Dan Gaisford, is coming to Bath Theatre Royal’s Ustinov Studio on 2nd and 3rd February and the Bay Theatre at Weymouth College on 5th February. The play…
THE Boxer Rebellion is remembered as a frightening episode in China’s history – but partisan Western reporting means we have a very one-sided view of the insurrection. An unusual solo show, Chinese Boxing, coming to Bath Theatre Royal’s Ustinov Studio from 27th to 29th January, gives the Chinese side of the story. The play, written…
ALISON Steadman, one of the best-loved and most versatile actresses of her generation, will be the special guest at the Pipeline masterclass at Poole’s Lighthouse arts centre on Wednesday 11th February. Acclaimed for her stage, television and film roles, Alison first came to prominence in television plays Nuts in May and Abigail’s Party – she…
PLAYWRIGHT Sir Tom Stoppard, who was born in the former Czechoslovakia in 1937, has died at the age of 88. He lived near Shaftesbury and, despite his international profile and long list of major stage, writing and film awards, was actively supportive of the arts, theatre and music in the area. There was an early…
“A stage where everyone’s story can be told” BATH’s Theatre Royal has received planning permission for Venue 4, a new community studio theatre for the public on St John’s Place. Subject to a fundraising campaign, Venue 4 will be a new home for the theatre’s Engage adult participation programme and will offer a range of…