Theatre Round-up
Theatre Royal Main House
Into The Woods
Bath audiences can enjoy an imaginative and delightfully playful new staging of Into The Woods, the legendary Stephen Sondheim musical, with book by James Lapine, at the Theatre Royal until Saturday 10th September.
The world-class creative team behind this production is led by iconic stage and film director Terry Gilliam and co-director and choreographer Leah Hausman.
The show is performed by a large and hugely talented company of musical theatre actors.
Sondheim’s much-loved masterpiece, which combines some of the best-known fairy tales into a captivating musical adventure, arrives as a timely celebration of the late composer’s unparalleled impact on musical theatre.
The Doctor
From Tuesday 13th to Saturday 17th September, The Doctor tours to Bath starring Olivier Award winner Juliet Stevenson (inset) (Mary Stuart, Truly, Madly, Deeply, White Heat), who reprises her leading role in Robert Icke’s five-star London production.
Originally seen at the Almeida Theatre in
2019, this fascinating new drama visits the Theatre Royal prior to a West End transfer. The cast also features Christopher Colquhoun, Doña Croll, Juliet Garricks, Preeya Kalidas, Mariah Louca, John Mackay, Daniel Rabin, Matilda Tucker, Naomi Wirthner, Sabrina Wu and Hannah Ledwidge.
The Doctor, which is very freely adapted from Professor Bernhardi by Arthur Schnitzler, marks Robert Icke and Juliet Stevenson’s third collaboration together to transfer to the West End following Mary Stuart, which also played Bath in 2018, and Hamlet in 2017.
Noises Off
From Thursday 22nd September to Saturday 1st October, the 40th anniversary production of Michael Frayn’s Noises Off opens at the Theatre Royal with a stellar cast led by Felicity Kendal (The Good Life, Rosemary & Thyme), Jonathan Coy (Downton Abbey), Matthew Kelly (The Dresser, Cold Blood, Bleak House) and Tracy-ann Oberman (Eastenders, Stepping Out, Edmond).
One of the greatest British comedies ever written, this riotous play-within-a-play follows the backstage antics of a touring theatre company as they stumble their way through the fictional farce, Nothing On, with hilarious consequences.
Directed by Lindsay Posner (God of Carnage, Hay Fever, Stones in his Pockets), audiences get to witness the shambolic final rehearsals before opening night in Weston-super-mare, before a disastrous matinee in Ashton-underlyme, seen entirely and hilariously silently from backstage, before sharing the company’s final, brilliantly catastrophic performance in Stockton-on-tees.
The original production of this much-loved comedy classic opened on the London stage in 1982 before becoming a worldwide hit. Noises Off was made into a feature film in 1992.
Draw Back The Curtain/ Murder At Mansfield Park Special Events in September include two events programmed as part of the Jane Austen Festival, with Draw Back The Curtain hosted by Jane Tapley, on Friday 9th and Friday 16th September at 4pm, providing an illustrated talk on theatre in Georgian times and its influence onjane Austen’s novels.
On Thursday 15th September at noon, Moonstone Theatre Company makes a welcome return to present Murder At Mansfield Park, a specially commissioned murder mystery lunch.
Taking place at Lansdown Grove Hotel, this new lunchtime thriller will once again provide all the clues the guests require to catch the culprit.
Tickets for all performances are on sale at the Theatre Royal Bath Box Office on 01225 448844 and online at www.theatreroyal.org.uk.
The Egg
Woodland Tales With Grandad Woodland Tales With Grandad opens The Egg’s autumn season on Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th September as Pickled Image present a magical puppet show for
over 3s with an important environmental message.
Written by Pickled Image and Hattie Naylor and directed by Emma Williams, this intriguing tale about a quest to save the woodland sees Grandad team up with a host of enchanting characters from the animal kingdom, including Laura the ladybird, Jeffrey the spider, Brett the woodlouse, Willoughby the woodpecker and Velda the vixen.
Destiny
Destiny, a new play which follows the story of a teenager growing up on a rural Wiltshire council estate, visits The Egg on Thursday 22nd September, recommended for audiences aged 14 and over.
Born below the breadline, Destiny is desperate to see beyond the neighbourhood and find hope in hopelessness.
After a big night out takes a turn for the worse, her life spirals out of control as she desperately tries to learn how to love and be loved.
Written and performed by Florence Espeut-nickless (below) and directed by Jesse Jones, this captivating play is a recipient of The Pleasance’s 2021 National Partnerships Award with Bristol Old Vic Ferment and was shortlisted for Theatre West’s Write On Women Award.
Bath’s Children’s Literature Festival
The festival brings four events to The Egg including A Better Day with Dr Alex George talking to Katie Thistleton about positive ways to enhance mental health on Saturday 24th September at 11am, for ages 10 and over.
This is followed at 2pm by What Makes You Happy? as two brilliant children’s book illustrators, Steven Lenton and Rikin Parekh, present a
BIG draw off event for all ages with host Steve Butler.
On Sunday 25th September at 11am, The Art of Happiness sees author and illustrator Tessa Yates explore what happiness is in an event for ages 6 and over.
Solve Your Own Mystery at 3pm welcomes Blue Peter’s award-winning author Gareth P. Jones who invites audiences aged 7 and over to create their own mystery in a show featuring live music, fast-rapping, anarchic humour and interactive storytelling.
Over the weekend young people of all ages are invited to drop in at the Happiness Hub between 10am and 4pm to discover tips and tricks on how to keep your head healthy with free, fun creative activities.
We’re Going On A Bear Hunt, Michael Rosen’s delightful tale of an adventure-seeking family, visits The Egg from Tuesday 27th to Saturday 1st September. All tickets have sold out, anyone wishing to check for returns should contact The Egg reception.
Meanwhile online, The Egg Assembly is hosting Cardboard Academy, a practical and hands-on, fiveweek course of onehour workshops starting on Tuesday 13th September, in collaboration with theatre designer and puppet maker Sam Wilde. Recommended for ages 13 to 21 years, participants will explore the process of designing, puppet making and crafting using waste materials and recycled cardboard.
Using set, costume and puppetry designer Sam Wilde’s signature
cardboard style to create their own show from recycled materials, budding young designers can learn the skills and design concepts used by Sam in his viral hits I Want My Hat Back and The Fir Tree for Shakespeare’s Globe.
The one-hour 5pm online sessions will run every Tuesday for five weeks until Tuesday 11th October.
Tickets for all shows and events are on sale at the Theatre Royal Box Office on 01225 448844, The Egg on 01225 823 409 and online at www. theatreroyal.org.uk/whats-on.
Burdall’s Yard
Next Stage Youth Autumn Term Enrolment takes place on Sunday, 18th September, 4.30-6pm at Burdall’s Yard, 7A Anglo Terrace, BA1 5NH.
With no auditions and an emphasis on friendship, teamwork, support and a professional grounding in theatre arts, the members of Next Stage Youth learn and develop their dramatic skills in the versatile venue of Burdall’s Yard.
“What I love about being part of Next Stage Youth is the great opportunities we get, such as working with the adult company and getting to work with some amazing people,” said Fin, 15.
More information at next-stage. co.uk/next-stage-youth. Get in touch by emailing nextstagebath@ aol.com or phoning 01225 428600.
Walcot State Choir
The Autumn Term starts on 20th September. Walcot Choir meet at Burdall’s Yard every Tuesday from 7.15 to 9.15pm.
There are no auditions you will learn by ear, singing in English and in other languages.
All ages and abilities welcome.
Mission Theatre
The Beauty Queen of Leenane Next Stage Theatre Company presents The Beauty Queen of Leenane by Martin Mcdonagh.
Let Next Stage Theatre Company transport you to Leenane, a small rural community on the West coast of Ireland.
You will form the listening and seeing walls of the kitchen where Mag and her daughter pass the time in their isolated homestead.
Abandoned by her older sisters to look after their irascible mother
- who is full of complaints about lumpy Complan and cold porridge - Maureen, the eponymous “Beauty Queen of Leenane”, hopes for escape in the form of Pato Dooley a local man, who has returned from the building sites of England for a family party.
But the cobwebs of deceit threaten the couple’s plans, and dark simmering tensions between mother and daughter force their way to the surface with heartbreaking and disturbing consequences.
This is Martin Mcdonagh’s first play, which premiered in 1996, and achieved international success and recognition.
A talented cast of acclaimed Next Stage actors, directed by Claire Rumball, are thrilled to be launching our Autumn season with this powerful piece of theatre.
Tuesday 6th - Saturday 10th September, 7.30pm. Matinee Saturday 10th September, 2pm. Tickets £15. Concessions £10 (students, NHS, Universal Credit). Next Stage Box Office, online www. missiontheatre.co.uk/tickets, email nextstagebath@aol.com, phone 01225 428600.
Snapshots
Seizing The Day Company presents Snapshots. This is what life is about!
Snapshots is a dazzling evening of funny, emotional, uplifting personal stories told through dialogue, dance and music.
The company said: “We are Seizing The Day Company and we can’t wait to share our experiences with you!”
Producer Alexandra Pickford – formerly a dancer with The Royal Ballet – and consultant Lucy Tuck have created an eclectic show that is full of hope, humour, and generosity. Snapshots will leave you inspired by life’s myriad moments!
Seizing The Day Company is a collective of singers, dancers and actors who are creating great live performances inspired by their own lives.
Age rating 16+ (some adult themes).
Tuesday 13th to Thursday 15th September 7.30pm. Tickets £10. Concessions £6. www.komedia.co.uk/ bath/spoken-word/snapshots.
Jane Austen Festival Friday 16th September
■ The Anatomy of an Austen novel: Northanger Abbey. A writers’ workshop with Dr Gabrielle Malcom (author and academic) that considers what makes Jane Austen’s novels so effective and how you too could discover a formula for success in your writing. 10am (finishes 11am). Tickets: £12
■ To be fond of Dancing... All of Austen’s characters attend a dance at some point in the novels.
But what did that entail? Did they have to memorise every dance? How was the Netherfield Ball different from the Meryton Assembly, or the ball at the Crown Inn?
And why couldn’t Catherine Morland just refuse to dance with John Thorpe?
Join Charlotte Cumper, of the Jane Austen Dancers, to find out what it meant to be fond of dancing in Jane Austen’s world. 11.30am (finishes 12.30pm). Tickets: £10.
■ Pastimes and Pleasures in the Time of Jane Austen. Celebrating her new book, Pastimes and Pleasures in the Time of Jane Austen, Sarah Jane Downing (author of the best-selling Fashion in the Time of Jane Austen) presents a talk illustrated with a gallery of the beautiful and rare Regency fashion plates that feature in her new book.
Pastimes and Pleasures offers an insight into the most fashionable, popular, and even disreputable pursuits and preoccupations of Jane and her contemporaries.
It explores the birth of women’s fashion magazines, engagement with Regency literature, art and theatre and the enjoyment of the natural environment that frame the context for Austen’s literature. 2pm (finishes 3pm). Tickets: £12.
■ Almost Austen. Catherine is a modern girl in love with Jane Austen’s world. She can’t believe her luck when she meets her very own ‘Mr Tilney.’
Through passages from Northanger Abbey and songs from Musicals and Opera, we follow Catherine’s romantic adventures as real life and fantasy collide in this theatrical from Louise Geller. 8pm (duration 1½ hours with interval). Tickets: £19.
Saturday 17th September
■ Jane Austen’s Alpha Girls: How Box Hill Makes Mean Girls of Us All. Emma Woodhouse is far from a flawless heroine. In Jane Austen’s portrayal of the spoiled rich girl’s defensive behaviour towards the new girl in town, she teaches us that black is never truly black, and white is often just a shade of grey. 10am (finishes 11am). Tickets: £12.
■ Jane Austen’s Weather. John Mullan is a favourite amongst festival audiences and is a highly entertaining speaker, who is fantastic at highlighting the most subtle and brilliant parts of Austen’s work.
For this talk he will be exploring the implications of the weather within Austen’s works. 11.30am (finishes 1pm). Tickets: £16.
■ Love in Jane Austen’s novels. As a professor of English at University College London for over 25 years, few are more qualified than John Mullan to speak about one of the most important elements of any Austen novel - love. 2.30pm (finishes 4pm). Tickets: £16.
■ Prejudice & Pride. What would happen if the Bennets had 5 sons, and the heir to the Darcy estate was a woman? Join the Natural Theatre Company on a hilarious journey through Austen’s most beloved novel, Pride and Prejudice, as traditional Regency gender roles are reversed. 8pm (duration 1½ hours with interval). Tickets: £26.
Tickets: janeausten.co.uk/pages/ festival