Theatre Royal Bath Productions Announces Further Details For Its Spring 2017 Season

Theatre Royal Bath Productions today announces further details for its Spring 2017 season which includes Mike Leigh's Abigail's Party and two UK premieres in The German Season at the Olivier Award-winning Ustinov Studio, Plastic and The Mentor.

Details on Jonathan Church's inaugural Summer Season at Theatre Royal Bath will be announced in due course.

Abigail's Party
Wednesday 1 March - Saturday 11 March

Theatre Royal Bath Productions celebrates the 40th anniversary of Mike Leigh's classic comedy Abigail's Party, directed by Sarah Esdaile. The production will open in Theatre Royal Bath's Main House prior to embarking on a UK Tour and London's West End.

As previously announced, Sherlock star Amanda Abbington will play Beverly. Ms Abbington will be joined by Ben Caplan as Laurence, Rose Keegan as Susan, Charlotte Mills as Angela and Ciarán Owens as Tony.

Amanda Abbington is best known for her television work, with recent roles including 'Mary Morstan' in Sherlock, 'Miss Mardle' in Mr Selfridge and 'DS Jo Moffat' in Cuffs.

Ben Caplan most recently starred in Hedda Gabler (Salisbury Playhouse) and as Eddie Kassner in Sunny Afternoon (Harold Pinter Theatre). He is also known for his role as PC Peter Noakes in the first five series of BBC's Call The Midwife.

Rose Keegan's stage credits include Alan Ayckbourn's Bedroom Farce (Aldwych Theatre) and The Revengers' Comedies (Strand Theatre), Cunegonde in Candide and Peterchen in Sugardollies (Gate Theatre).

Charlotte Mills played Tanya in the original production of Jerusalem at the Royal Court, then at the Apollo Theatre West End and The Music Box Theatre on Broadway. Other recent credits include The Two Gentlemen of Verona at Shakespeare's Globe and The Winter's Tale at the RSC.

Ciarán Owens' theatre work includes Candide, Titus Andronicus and Mad World My Masters for the Royal Shakespeare Company and Oh! What A Lovely War (Theatre Royal Stratford East).

Sarah Esdaile directed Alan Bennett's Talking Heads for Theatre Royal Bath's 2015 Summer Season. She was Associate Director at West Yorkshire Playhouse where productions included Deep Blue Sea starring Maxine Peake, Death of a Salesman with Philip Jackson and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

The drinks party from hell begins when Beverly and estate agent husband Laurence invite round new neighbours, Tony and Ange, along with nervous divorcee Sue, jittery about the bash her teenage daughter, Abigail, is throwing up the road. As that party gets out of hand, this one too descends into chaos.

THE GERMAN SEASON
USTINOV STUDIO

The Ustinov Studio's Artistic Director, Laurence Boswell, presents two UK premieres of acclaimed plays from celebrated German writers, Marius von Mayenburg's Plastic and Daniel Kehlmann's The Mentor.

Speaking about the season, Boswell says: "We're proud to present our Spring Season of two original plays from contemporary Germany, both examining with sharp, satirical wit, the role and legacy of the arts and the artist in the 21st Century. Marius von Mayenburg's PLASTIC also welcomes director Matthew Dunster to the Ustinov, and Christopher Hampton returns with a new translation of Daniel Kehlmann's THE MENTOR, starring the Oscar winning legend F. Murray Abraham. The Ustinov continues to surprise and delight."

PLASTIC
Thursday 23 February - Saturday 25 March

Casting is today confirmed for Plastic, Marius von Mayenburg's outrageous satire on middle class political correctness. The production will star Brenock O'Connor as Vincent, Charlotte Randle as Ulrike, Steve John Shepherd as Haulupa, Jonathan Slinger as Michael and Ria Zmitrowicz as Jessica. The production has been translated by Maja Zade and is directed by Olivier Award nominee Matthew Dunster.

Brenock O'Connor is best known for his role as Olly in Game of Thrones and Peter Cratchit in Dickensian. He also starred in the UK Tour of Oliver! as The Artful Dodger.

Charlotte Randle's recent stage credits include Mary in Yerma (Young Vic), Medea (Almeida Theatre), Public Enemy (Young Vic) and Birdland (Royal Court). Television credits include Father Brown, The Trials of Jimmy Rose and Silent Witness.

Steve John Shepherd is best known for his role as Michael Moon in EastEnders. Theatre credits include The Good Canary (Rose Theatre Kingston), Bomber's Moon (Trafalgar Studios) and Albion (Bush Theatre).

Jonathan Slinger was most recently seen as Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Theatre Royal Drury Lane). Extensive credits for the RSC include the title role in Hamlet, Parolles in All's Well That Ends Well and Prospero in The Tempest.

Ria Zmitrowicz's notable television credits include Miss Ellis in ITV's Mr Selfridge and Jodie in Channel 4's Youngers. Theatre credits include X (Royal Court), Four Minutes Twelve Seconds (Trafalgar Studios) and The Crucible (Royal Exchange Theatre).

Marius von Mayenburg is a trail-blazer for contemporary European theatre. In 2007 his play The Ugly One opened at the Royal Court to critical acclaim and in 2015 Martyr opened at the Unicorn Theatre.

Matthew Dunster is an Olivier Award nominated Director and Associate Director at Shakespeare's Globe. ReceNT Productions include Martin McDonagh's Hangmen (Royal Court; Wyndham's Theatre), Liberian Girl (Royal Court), plus The Seagull and A Midsummer Night's Dream for Regent's Park Open Air Theatre.

Michael and Ulrike are on the brink. Michael is a doctor, with ambitions of heroic grandeur; Ulrike, his wife, is assistant to the infamous Serge Haulupa, a bizarre conceptual artist; Vincent, their teenage son is hitting puberty with a vengeance - and a video camera; Jessica Schmitt is the new cleaner thrust in to clean up their mess. Utter pandemonium ensues when Serge invites himself to Michael and Ulrike's house to make art over dinner. The food fight is just the start of it...

THE MENTOR
Thursday 6 April - Saturday 6 May

Laurence Boswell directs Academy Award-winner F. Murray Abraham in Daniel Kehlmann's The Mentor, translated by Christopher Hampton, marking the first time a Kehlmann play has been performed outside of Germany. Further casting for the production will be announced in due course.

In a dilapidated art nouveau villa, somewhere in the German countryside, two massive egos are set on a collision course in this perceptive and compelling comedy about art and artists and the legacy of fame.

F. Murray Abraham won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Salieri in Miloš Forman's masterpiece Amadeus. His numerous other screen credits include Homeland, Mighty Aphrodite, Scarface, Finding Forrester, Star Trek: Insurrection, The Name of the Rose, The Good Wife, Inside Llewyn Davis and The Grand Budapest Hotel. Theatre credits include It's Only A Play, Othello, Richard III and Uncle Vanya, for which he was awarded an Obie Award for Best Actor.

Daniel Kehlmann is a German-language author whose novel Measuring the World, sold three million copies in Germany alone and has been translated into more than 40 languages.

Christopher Hampton previously translated Florian Zeller's play The Father for the Ustinov Studio, launching its international success. He won an Academy Award for the adaptation of his own play, Dangerous Liaisons.

Laurence Boswell is an Olivier Award-winner, Artistic Director of the Ustinov Studio and an Associate Artist of the RSC. His receNT Productions include A Midsummer Night's Dream in the Theatre Royal's Main House, and Trouble in the Mind, The Mother, Intimate Apparel and The Spanish Golden Age Season in the Ustinov Studio.

Website: www.theatreroyal.org.uk
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Twitter: @TheatreRBath

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