Cox to star in new production

The world premiere of a play with a distinctly musical vibe and starring a legendary stage and screen actor is to open in Bath next year.

Brian Cox, inset, who recently won plaudits for his interpretation of a patriarch in the TV series Succession will play composer Johann Sebastian Bach in The Score.

Produced by Theatre Royal

Bath Productions, this new play by Oliver Cotton will be directed by former artistic director of the National Theatre Sir Trevor Nunn and appear at the Theatre Royal from Thursday, October 12 to Saturday, October 28, 2023.

It’s 1747. In Potsdam, Prussia, Bach reluctantly visits the court of Frederick II, Europe’s most ambitious and dangerous leader. The two men could hardly be more different.

As the age of Enlightenment dawns, they stand in opposite camps. Bach is deeply religious, Frederick is an atheist. Bach loathes war, Frederick revels in it. Bach studies scripture, Frederick reads military history.

Frederick admires Bach’s genius however and has mischievously prepared a musical conundrum that he hopes will baffle the composer and amuse his court.

The explosive events of the following days could not have been predicted by either man.

Twice Olivier Award winner for Best Actor, Brian Cox’s role as Logan Roy in the HBO series Succession won him a Golden Globe Award and Emmy nominations.