Bath Theatre Royal Spring 2014 Season Round-Up

The new season of shows has been announced for Bath Theatre Royal, the Ustinov Studio and the Egg from January to April 2014. Included are two stage versions of well-known films Chariots of Fire and The Full Monty, a new stage adaptation of novel Moon Tiger, Alistair McGowan as Henry Higgins in the 100th anniversary of Pygmalion, and three acclaimed US works in the Ustinov studio’s American season.

Opening the season from 13 January in the Theatre Royal is The Perfect Murder, adapted from the thriller by Peter James and starring Les Dennis. One of the great 20 century novels, Moon Tiger is brought to the stage for the first time starring Jane Asher. Robert Powell plays Hercules Poirot in Black Coffee by the Agatha Christie Company before The Full Monty (3-15 February) visits ahead of its West End run.

Noel Coward’s Fallen Angels, starring Jenny Seagrove and Sara Crowe, plays from the 17 February before the first touring production of West End hit Chariots of Fire arrives, adapted by Mike Bartlett and directed by Edward Hall.

The Stephen Joseph theatre return to Bath with one company, three new plays, and one new piece: Arrivals and Departures/Time of My Life/Farcicals written and directed by Alan Ayckbourn.

The much acclaimed RSC production of Life of Galileo starring Ian McDiarmid plays 17 to 22 March whilst Talawa bring Moon On A Rainbow Shawl after its critical success in 2012 at the National Theatre.

Alistair McGowen plays Henry Higgins in George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, which is revived in its hundredth year in a brand new production directed by David Grindley which opens at the Theatre Royal before a UK tour.

In the Ustinov studio, three US works make up the American season all of which receive their UK bows. The Big Meal is written by Dan Lefranc and directed by former RSC boss Michael Boyd and is its UK premiere. Somewhere in America, in a typical suburban restaurant on a typical night, Sam and Nicole first meet. Sparks fly. And so begins an exhilarating story that takes five generations of a modern family on a rollercoaster ride through life, from first kiss to final goodbye. It plays 6 March to 5 April.

Keith Huff’s A Steady Rain, 9 April – 10 May, chronicles love and rage on the streets of Chicago, where one ordinary day a deadly error of judgement sends the lives of two cops spinning out of control. Its Broadway run starred Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman and smashed box office records. Its UK run will be directed by David Grindley.

Finally, Lynn Nottage’s Intimate Apparel plays 15 May to 14 June in a production by Ustinov artistic director Laurence Boswell. Brimming with wonderful characters, this multi award-winning play is set in 1905 in New York City where Esther, a black seamstress, sews exquisite lingerie for clients who range from wealthy white patrons to prostitutes. She has saved enough to allow her to dream of one day opening a beauty salon for black women, and at 35 years old, longs for a husband and a future. When she begins to receive beautiful letters from a lonesome Caribbean man who is working on the Panama Canal, it looks like life may be about to take a different course. The production won a number of awards in America, including the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play.

In the Egg, a range of work for both younger and older children include Not Now Bernard, Pinnochio, Hansel and Gretel, Mouth Open Story Jumps Out and Chalk Farm.

For full details, casting and dates please visit Theatre Royal Bath website.

– Kris Hallett