New season on stage
Theatres showcase productions
This September don’t miss your chance to catch a stellar cast of TV favourites in the 10th anniversary production of the comedy hit GOD OF CARNAGE and the UK premiere of THE HEIGHT OF THE STORM starring Jonathan Pryce and Eileen Atkins at Bath’s Theatre Royal prior to the West End
Theatregoers can enjoy a brand new production of Yasmina Reza’s hilarious comedy of bad manners, GOD OF CARNAGE, in the Theatre Royal’s Main House until Saturday 15 September starring Elizabeth Mcgovern (Downton Abbey, Ragtime, Once Upon A Time in America), Amanda Abbington (Sherlock, Mr Selfridge, Safe), Ralf Little (The Royle Family, Our Zoo, The A Word) and Nigel Lindsay (Victoria, Unforgotten, Four Lions), directed by Lindsay Posner. Winner of the Tony Award for Best Play and the Olivier Award winner for Best New Comedy, this ruthlessly comic study of middle class parenting by the author of Art, is one of the most successful plays ever in the history of the West End. When 11-year-old Ferdinand hits 11-year-old Bruno with a stick in a playground punch-up and knocks out two of his teeth, the combatants’ enlightened parents decide to meet to talk things over civilly. But once the niceties are done with and the drink starts flowing, it is the parents who turn into spoiled brats.
From Tuesday 18 to Saturday 29 September multi award-winning star of screen and stage Jonathan Pryce and three-time Olivier award-winning Dame Eileen Atkins star in the UK premiere production of Florian Zeller’s THE HEIGHT OF THE STORM. Directed by Jonathan Kent, this major new play by the internationally acclaimed writer of The Father visits the Theatre Royal as one of only three theatres on tour before transferring direct to the West End from Bath. André and Madeleine have been in love for over 50 years. This weekend, as their daughters visit, something feels unusual. A bunch of flowers arrives, but who sent them? A woman from the past turns up, but who is she? And why does André feel like he isn’t there at all? A searing exploration of love, family and the fragility of life, this beautifully compelling family drama unites two of the greatest actors of their generation on stage together for the first time. The Height of the Storm sees the welcome return of Zeller’s work to the Bath stage after the UK premiere of his play The Father starring Kenneth Cranham opened in the Theatre Royal’s Ustinov Studio in 2014 prior to a hugely successful West End transfer. As well as multi-award winning actors Jonathan Pryce and Eileen Aitkens who between them have forged long and varied careers on stage and screen are Anna Madeley and Lucy Cohu, both well-known TV faces who join the cast of Zeller’s play. Pryce’s diverse film work includes lauded performances in Brazil and Glengarry Glen Ross as well as in blockbusters including Tomorrow Never Dies and the Pirates of the Caribbean. His extensive theatre work has won him a whole host of awards in productions as diverse as Hamlet and Miss Saigon. Dame Eileen Atkins is a threetime Olivier Award-winning actress and four-time Tony Award nomi-
nee. Best known on television for her BAFTA and Emmy Award-winning performance as Miss Deborah Jenkyns in Cranford and as Ruth Ellingham in Doc Martin, her many film roles include Gosford Park, The Hours and Paddington 2. Her numerous stage appearances in the West End include Honour, Ellen Terry, Three Tall Women and The Female of the Species. She has also played starring roles on Broadway opposite leading men including Michael Gambon and Jude Law. She has recently been seen on our screens as Queen Mary in Netflix’s hit series The Crown. Tickets for all productions at the Theatre Royal Bath can be purchased from the Box Office on 01225 448844 and online at www.theatreroyal.org. uk