Richard Wilson Joins Cast of Theatre Royal Bath's A LITTLE HOTEL ON THE SIDE, Begin. 15 August

Theatre Royal Bath has announced Richard Wilson will star in the final production of its Summer Season, A Little Hotel On The Side directed by Lindsay Posner and Cal McCrystal. Adapted by John Mortimer, this hilarious comedy by Georges Feydeau and Maurice Désvallières will appear at Theatre Royal Bath from Thursday 15th August - Saturday 31st August.

Richard Wilson will play the role of Basiten. Known to millions as Victor Meldrew in the long-running BBC comedy One Foot in the Grave, and more recently for his role as Gaius in five series of BBC1's Merlin, Richard Wilson has a long and distinguished career as both an actor and director on television, film and stage. He has twice been awarded the BAFTA for Best Actor and was the winner of the British Comedy Awards Top Television Comedy Actor. He last performed at the Theatre Royal Bath in Whipping It Up in 2007.

Richard McCabe, already confirmed to play Monsieur Pinglet, comes to Bath direct from winning an Olivier Award for his role as Harold Wilson in one of the West End's biggest hits of recent years, The Audience, opposite Dame Helen Mirren. His many credits with the RSC include A Midsummer Night's Dream, Twelfth Night, Othello and The Winter's Tale and he also starred in the West End in Yes, Prime Minister.

Set in 19th century Paris, Monsieur Pinglet and his neighbour's wife, Marcelle, attempt to get their affair underway by discreetly taking a room at an obscure hotel. But far from the quiet evening of amour they had anticipated, they encounter half of Paris here, including most of their relatives and the Inspector of Public Morality!

Hannah Waddingham plays Angelique. Hannah recently appeared as the lead in Trevor Nunn's production of Kiss Me, Kate at The Old Vic Theatre and Chichester Festival Theatre (Olivier Award nomination for Best actress in a musical). Other theatre credits include The Wizard of Oz (London Palladium) and Into the Woods (Open Air Theatre Regent's Park).

Robert Portal plays Paillardin. His theatre credits include Noises Off (Piccadilly Theatre), Venus Observed and Cain (Chichester Festival Theatre) and numerous credits for the RSC.

Natalie Walter plays Marcelle. Her most recent theatre credits include Smash! (Menier Chocolate Factory), Lingua Franca (Finborough) and 50 Ways to Leave your Lover (Bush).

This side-splitting work from the supreme master of traditional farce contains all the classic ingredients - thwarted passion, spiralling panic and a hotel where the corridors see more action than the beds - in a completely hilarious evening of mistaken identities and sexual innuendo.

John Mortimer's witty, ribald and stylish translation remains true to the Feydeau spirit. The creator of Rumpole and author of A Voyage Round My Father, his version of Feydeau's A Flea in her Ear was performed at The National Theatre in 1966 and A Little Hotel on the Side played there in 1984 to great acclaim.

A Little Hotel on the Side will be directed by two of the UK's greatest directors of comedy, Lindsay Posner, whose productions of Abigail's Party and Noises Off were huge West End successes in 2012, both of which played Bath; and by Cal McCrystal, who was responsible for directing the glorious physical comedy in One Man, Two Guvnors in the West End and on Broadway. A Little Hotel on the Side is designed by Michael Taylor, whose extraordinary set for the West End production ofThe Ladykillers received an Olivier Award nomination.

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