Theatre Royal Bath
Main House
Fisherman’s Friends: The Musical
This world premiere production sets sail for the Theatre Royal where it will appear for eight performances from Tuesday 1st to Saturday 5th November with the cast led by James Gaddas (Casualty, Bad Girls, Coronation Street), Parisa Shahmir (The Last Ship, Mamma Mia!), Robert Duncan (Drop the Dead Donkey, Casualty), Susan Penhaligon (Bouquet of Barbed Wire, Emmerdale) and Anton Stephans (finalist in The X Factor, Porgy and Bess).
Fisherman’s Friends: The Musical is based on the true story of the Cornish singing sensations, Fisherman’s Friends, and the hit 2019 film about their life.
When a group of Cornish fishermen came together to sing the traditional working songs they’d sung for generations, they hoped to raise a few quid for charity. Nobody, least of all the fishermen, expected their story to end on the Pyramid stage of Glastonbury.
Mrs Warren’s Profession
From Wednesday 9th to Saturday 19th November, a new production of George Bernard Shaw’s Mrs Warren’s Profession opens in Bath starring Caroline Quentin (The Larazus Project, Men Behaving Badly, Blue Murder, Life Begins), Simon Shepherd (Peak Practice, Casualty, Chancer), Matthew Cottle (Game On, The Windsors, Citizen Khan) and Rose Quentin, directed by Anthony Banks.
What is Mrs Warren’s profession? Mrs Warren’s daughter Vivie has never really known much about her mother. A sensible young woman, she has enjoyed a comfortable upbringing, a Cambridge education, a generous monthly allowance and now has ambitions to go into law. Is it conceivable that her privilege and respectability has been financed from the profits of the world’s oldest profession?
Sing-along-a-gareth
On Sunday 20th November at 2.30pm, Gareth Malone presents a feel-good matinee concert Singalong-a-gareth, when together with his band and a group of stellar singers, Gareth guides the audience through an afternoon of tunes he’s performed over 15 years on TV.
The Mousetrap
From Monday 21st to Saturday 26th November, the 70th anniversary tour of The Mousetrap, the longest running play in the world, makes a welcome return to the Theatre Royal with the cast led by Todd Carty (Eastenders, Grange Hill, Dancing on Ice), John Altman (Eastenders),
Gwyneth Strong (Only Fools and Horses).
As news spreads of a murder in London, a group of seven strangers find themselves snowed in at Monkswell Manor, a remote countryside guesthouse. When a police sergeant arrives, the guests discover – to their horror – that a killer is in their midst.
Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain
On Sunday 27th November, independent rock stars of the “bonsai guitar”, George Hinchliffe’s Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain are back by popular demand, when the world’s very first ukulele orchestra return to present a matinee and evening concert at 3pm and 7.30pm.
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel The first major theatrical staging of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, tours to Bath appearing at the Theatre Royal for a week from Monday 28th November.
This feel-good tale of love and adventure features celebrated stars of stage and screen Hayley Mills (Pollyanna, The Parent Trap, Whistle Down the Wind), Paul Nicholas (Jesus Christ Superstar, Just Good Friends, Eastenders) and Rula Lenska (Rock Follies, Coronation Street, Celebrity Big Brother). The play is written by Deborah Moggach, who has adapted for the stage her bestselling novel, which previously inspired the BAFTA and Golden Globe-nominated film.
Special Events Special Events in November include a pre-matinee talk about undoubtedly the world’s greatest crime writer, Agatha Christie: Queen of Crime, hosted by Jane Tapley on Wednesday 23rd November at 12 noon, in celebration of the 70th anniversary production of The Mousetrap.
On Friday 25th November at 12 noon, author Nicola Tallis visits Bath to talk about All The Queen’s Jewels, uncovering the exciting history of jewels and jewellery worn by Queens in Tudor times.
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
Unknown
Coming to Bath’s Egg Theatre on Tuesday 1st November at 7pm is Unknown, a play about homelessness, written by the award-winning Dougie Blaxland.
Unknown is a verbatim play that dramatises the tragic but true story of one young person’s journey from an abusive childhood to a life on the streets of Bath.
Supported by The Arts Council, Unknown is presented by The Big
Issue and Rough House Theatre, and is written with the assistance of six people who have experience of homelessness. Recommended for audiences aged 14 and over.
tooob
From Thursday 3rd to Sunday 6th November, meet tooob, a curious and friendly shapeshifting creature who is not quite sure where she’s landed.
Younger audiences at The Egg will be taken on a gentle, sensory adventure with interactive fun and games, in this enchanting, wordless show presented by Angel Exit, created for children aged 6 to 24 months and their grown-ups.
Jina and the Stem Sisters
From Wednesday 9th to Sat 12th November, children aged 7 years and over can join budding scientist, Jina, in a new and empowering musical puppet show, presented by HDMT Music.
Jina is lost and trying to find her way home. Along the way she meets some of history’s super-stem women, who fought to pursue their flair for scientific enquiry.
Innocentville
On Saturday 19th November, The Egg and award-winning theatre maker James Baldwin present Innocentville at 11.30am, 1.30pm and 3.30pm.
This new workshop which is part game, part theatrical experience and part escape room, invites audiences to use their creative writing and graphic novel skills to help decide who is innocent… or not!
Recommended for ages 13 and over.
I Am England
The Theatre Royal Bath Theatre School returns to the stage with I Am England from Thursday 24th to Saturday 26th November.
Written by David Lane and cocreated by Sita Calvert-ennals, this work tells the story of a young soldier who is caught between duty and truth and explores themes of glory, expectation and responsibility. Recommended for audiences aged 12 years and over.
Tickets for performances at The Egg 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.
Ustinov Studio
Dido and Aeneas
Until Saturday 5th November, a new production of Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas appears at the Ustinov Studio as part of the Deborah Warner Season.
Written around 1668 and containing music and arias of astonishing beauty, the opera tells the story of Dido, the widowed Queen of Carthage, and her lover the Trojan prince, Aeneas, shipwrecked on his way to Italy, where he will found a new Troy.
Award-winning New Zealand soprano Madison Nonoa plays Dido alongside Dominic Bowe, whose credits range from
Glyndebourne Festival to Royal Academy Opera, as Aeneas.
Review- page 4
Showmanism
From Friday 11th November to Saturday 10th December, the uniquely talented Dickie Beau presents Showmanism, a new production which guides audience members through thousands of years of theatre history.
Expect revelations on everything you think you know about
perfor
mance, from Greek theatre to puppetry, from opera to Shakespeare, from clowns to curtain calls as live lip-synching phenomenon Dickie Beau channels the voices of legends of stage and screen - Ian Mckellen, Fiona Shaw, renowned theatre director Peter Sellars - plus a host of writers, lecturers, journalists, teachers, impressionists, audience members and enchantingly unknown voices – in a love letter to the origins and orientations of the art of performance itself.
Tickets for all performances at the Ustinov Studio are on sale at the Theatre Royal Bath Box Office on 01225 448844 and online at www.theatreroyal.org.uk/ustinov.
Mission Theatre
If It’s To Break
After debuting to rave reviews at the Bath Fringe Festival 2022, Bitterroot return with Chris Richards and Jake Rayner Blair’s If It’s To Break – a dark, atmospheric piece exploring self-acceptance and failure in art.
Driven by body-based work, with original score composed by Chris Richards, this performance asks the ancient question, ‘what does it mean to make art?’
This show contains violence and flashing lights.
Friday 4th- Saturday 5th November, 8pm. Tickets: www.komedia.co.uk/
bath/theatre/if-its-to-break.
King Lear: The Musical Bristol Shakespeare Festival return with the Bard’s broody tragedy that takes an outrageously silly turn, as six actors deploy wittily rewritten pop classics, chaotically daft comedy, and an array of highly haphazard props to recount the tale of a megalomaniac family who make the Kardashians look like Little House on the Prairie. After a sell-out run at Bath Fringe Festival 2022 the team that brought you Macbeth: The Musical take on Shakespeare’s most dysfunctional family!
Thursday 10th-saturday 12th November, 7.30pm. Tickets: www. eventbrite.co.uk (search King Lear: The Musical).
Racing Demon
Who do you turn to if you’re struggling at work?
That’s the dilemma facing vicar Lionel Espy in David Hare’s awardwinning play presented by Next Stage Theatre Company.
You can try talking to a God, of course, but it’s tricky when your faith is wavering, and both your congregation and bishop have lost confidence in you. Then along comes a younger, more charismatic rival...
Originally written in 1990, this fascinating glimpse into the working lives of the clergy remains fiercely topical today.
Part of a trilogy looking at different British institutions, Hare portrays a world in which religious faith is confronted by the everyday problems of society. Is faith enough? And what are its limits?
Tuesday 29th November – Saturday 3rd December, 7.30pm. Matinee Saturday 3rd December, 2pm. Tickets £15 concessions £10. www.missiontheatre.co.uk/whats-on/2022/racing-demon.
Burdall’s Yard
And Then They Came For Me Moondog Productions’ multimedia play combines videotaped interviews with Holocaust survivors Eva
Schloss and Ed Silverberg with live actors recreating scenes from their lives as teenagers during WWII.
Part oral history, part drama action, part remembrance, this play brings to life what happened after The Diary of Anne Frank ends.
The ensemble-driven play breaks new ground and has been acclaimed by audiences and critics in worldwide productions.
Suitable for age 11 to 111! Thursday 27th – Friday 28th October, 7.30pm. Tickets: www.eventbrite.co.uk (search And Then They Came For Me).
Alive and Brel
The finest songs from the iconic master of the modern chanson, Jacques Brel, return to Bath when this trio of singers perform their cabaret revue in the intimate setting of Burdall’s Yard.
Featuring classics such as Ne me quitte pas/if You Go Away, Amsterdam and Jacky, Brel’s music is famed for its emotional power and ironic wit.
His songs, which have been recorded by stars ranging from Frank Sinatra and Dusty Springfield to Scott Walker and David Bowie, have been likened to miniature films, laced with dark and passionate observations which paint a tableau of imperfect humanity . Saturday 12th November, 7.30pm. Tickets: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/alive-and-breltickets395262750527.
Plucky Devils
An impromptu performance group for guitarists (and lutenists), open to pluckers of all ages and stages. Led by Burdall’s Yard resident musician (and incorrigible punster) Sam Brown.
Sunday 13th November, 2pm-4pm. This event is open to all ages and is free to attend.
John William Richard
Often things come full circle. As a child, John William Richard’s love affair with music began as a classically trained musician, with hours spent studying the piano and cello.
However, a lifetime has been spent elsewhere, from, amongst other things, fronting a new romantic group, managing artists, starting a label and running a nightclub.
With the release of his debut album: Song for a Ghost, in 2021, John William Richard returned to the rigour of the classical tradition, mixing that with flashes of contemporary electronica, creating something that is both intimate and breathtakingly cinematic.
Friday 18th November, 7.30pm. Tickets for this Bendall Records presentation: www.ticketsource.co.uk/bendallrecords/bendall-records-presentsjohn-william-richard/e-amryam. Anyone buying a ticket before the event will be able to collect a CD copy of the current album Song For A Ghost.
Humm
Arty Jackson and Carys Lewin are ‘Humm’ a Bath-based contemporary folk duo with stories to tell, minds to change and words to reimagine.
Since 2018 they’ve captivated audiences with melodic finger-style guitar, lush ethereal vocals, and rich harmonium drones, creating genredefining tracks that are mellifluous but anthemic.
Humm takes listeners on a twisted journey through love, hate and heartbreak, rooted in traditional music, telling alluring, folkloric tales of Welsh saints and Greek sinners, Cornish fairy tales and medieval legends.
Saturday 19th November, 7.30pm. Tickets: £6 full / £5 concessions being sold on the door. Doors from 7pm.
The Dunwells - Tell Me What you Want – UK Tour
The Dunwells are a successful Leeds based indie-folk/american band with strong vocals, powerful melodies and heartfelt lyrics.
Their debut album “Blind-sighted Faith” was released in 2012 following which they have released a further 6 albums/eps.
The Dunwells have found favour with audiences across the world having toured extensively in USA, Europe and the UK as well as having supported artists including Mumford and Sons, Tom Jones, Scouting for Girls, Brian Adams and Elbow on UK tours.
They are passionate and prolific singersongwriters having written material for joint collaborations as well as other high profile up and coming artists.
Thursday 24th November, 7.30pm. Tickets: www.missiontheatre.co.uk/burdalls-yard/thedunwells?rq=the%20dunwells.
GATHER: Enquiries, explorations, and experiments in creative research.
GATHER combines an eclectic programme of music, poetry and performance art with a long intermission that gives the audience a chance to wander at will through immersive experiences.
It is the first in a series of Bath-based events by Mid Air: a collective of creatives and researchers from universities across the South and West and Wales, who celebrate ways that we can meet through art. Friday 25th November, 7pm-9.30pm. Free entry. Tickets: eventbrite.co.uk (search for GATHER: A Celebration of Creativity).
Pictures: Fisherman’s Friends - Oliver Rosser, Feast Creative; The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain - Allison Burke; Mrs Warren’s Profession - Hugo Glendinning; The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - Johan Persson