AWARD-winning stage and screen star Ralph Fiennes directs a summer season of plays at Bath Theatre Royal, and plays the joint lead in the opening play, the world premiere of David Hare’s Grace Pervades, running in the theatre from Friday 27th June to Saturday 19th July.
Fiennes, BAFTA-winning and Oscar-nominated star of Conclave, plays the legendary actor Henry Irving alongside Miranda Raison as Irving’s wife Ellen Terry.
Grace Pervades tells the extraordinary story of the couple who were the greatest stars of the Victorian stage, and pf Ellen’s troubled and brilliant children – Edith Craig and Edward Gordon Craig – who made their own profound contribution to the development of British theatre. Both Henry Irving and Ellen Terry performed at the Theatre Royal Bath during their theatrical careers.
Ralph Fiennes’ distinguished stage work is matched by performances in some of the greatest films of our time. The winner of a Tony Award for playing Hamlet, he has worked extensively in theatre, where his many credits include Antony and Cleopatra, Richard III and The Master Builder. Last year he starred in the title role in Shakespeare’s Macbeth alongside Indira Varma as Lady Macbeth, with performances in Liverpool, Edinburgh, London and Washington DC. His numerous film roles include The Return, a BAFTA Award-winning performance in Schindler’s List, The English Patient, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Constant Gardner, Skyfall, the Harry Potter series, in which he portrayed the monstrous Voldemort, In Bruges and The Dig.
He directed and performed a new stage adaptation of TS Eliot’s Four Quartets in Bath in May 2021. The production welcomed audiences back to live theatre after the pandemic when the Theatre Royal reopened, before touring, transferring to the West End and being filmed for the BBC.
Miranda Raison’s many theatre credits include The Winter’s Tale, Harlequinade and Strangers On A Train in the West End, Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII at the Globe Theatre, The River at the Royal Court, and The Man Who Came To Dinner at Chichester Festival Theatre. On television, her numerous roles include Jo Portman in four series of Spooks, Ruth Penny in Sister Boniface Mysteries from 2022 to 2024, Nellie Davenport in Warrior from 2020 to 2023, and Harriet Hammond in Silk.
The cast also includes Ruby Ashbourne Serkis as Edith Craig, Jordan Metcalfe as Edward Gordon Craig, Helena Lymbery, Kathryn Wilder, Saskia Strallen, Sharif Afifi, Tom Kanji, Harriet Leitch, Jo Mousley, Damian Myerscough and Guy Paul.
The play is directed by Jeremy Herrin. The creative team features multi-Olivier and Tony Award winners, including set designer Bob Crowley, costume designer Fotini Dimou, lightning designer Peter Mumford, composer Paul Englishby and movement director Lucy Cullingford.
Pictured: The two leading actors in rehearsal.