Photo Flash: Classic Spring Stages AN IDEAL HUSBAND

Classic Spring is delighted to announce real-life father and son, Edward and Freddie Fox, are to play fictional father and son in Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband, from 20 April at the Vaudeville theatre. Also starring, in the role of Mrs. Cheveley, is Frances Barber. Directed by Jonathan Church, An Ideal Husband will play at the Vaudeville Theatre 20 April to 14 July 2018, before opening the Theatre Royal Bath Summer Season on 18 July to 4 August 2018.

Edward Fox will play the Earl of Caversham. Among his many stage and screen credits, Edward has appeared as Winston Churchill in The Audience (West End), with Helen Mirren, and performed T.S. Eliot's 'Four Quartets' (Riverside Studios). Most recently on screen in Taboo (BBC), with Tom Hardy, Edward is best-known for his performances in The Day of the Jackal and Edward & Mrs. Simpson (ITV). Screen credits also include A Bridge Too Far, The Dresser, and Gandhi.

Freddie Fox will play Lord Goring. He played Wilde's lover Lord Alfred 'Bosie' Douglas in The Judas Kiss, opposite Rupert Everett (Hampstead Theatre, West End). Other credits include Travesties (Menier Chocolate Factory, West End), Cucumber (Channel 4), Banana (E4), Boy George (BBC) and The Three Musketeers. Following cast injuries, Freddie took the role of Romeo to great acclaim in Kenneth Branagh's Romeo and Juliet, with Lily James (Garrick Theatre).

Frances Barber plays Mrs. Cheveley. Best-known for her role as Caroline Warwick in Silk (BBC), her many screen and stage credits include Mr. Holmes, Vicious (ITV), and Death in Paradise (BBC). Her numerous stage appearances have included playing Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra (Shakespeare's Globe), Arkadina in The Seagull (RSC), and Julius in Phyllida Lloyd's all-female Julius Caesar (Donmar Warehouse).

Classic Spring is a new theatre company from former Artistic Director of Shakespeare's Globe Dominic Dromgoole. The company is staging an unprecedented year-long celebration of Oscar Wilde at the Vaudeville Theatre, including runs of all four of his major plays, plus a series of 'interludes' and 'Wilde talks' intended to give a complete picture of his life and work. Next to open in the season is Guy Chambers' new folk opera, The Selfish Giant. The production will be co-produced by Royal & Derngate, Northampton, and directed by multi-award-winning director Bill Buckhurst. The limited run of lightly-staged performances will run at Royal & Derngate 4 April - 7 April, before moving to the Vaudeville from 10 - 14 April.

Guy Chambers is a long-time collaborator with Robbie Williams, having co-written many of his most popular hits, including Angels, Millennium and Let Me Entertain You. Guy has also collaborated with Kylie Minogue, Rufus Wainwright, Mark Ronson and Diana Ross, amongst others. He has won three BRIT Awards, three Ivor Novello awards and an MTV Video Music Award.

Over 20,000 tickets under £20 are being made available across the season, encouraging younger audiences and making the season as accessible as possible.

Dominic's production of A Woman of No Importance, starring Eve Best and Anne Reid, ran successfully through the end of last year. Lady Windermere's Fan, starring Kevin Bishop, Samantha Spiro and Jennifer Saunders and directed by Kathy Burke, plays at the Vaudeville until 7 April. An Ideal Husband will be followed by The Importance of Being Earnest.

Previous interludes and Wilde talks have included a lecture from the inimitable Stephen Fry, and a critically-acclaimed performance of De Profundis by Simon Callow(adapted by Frank McGuinness), which is set to return later this year.

Box office: 01225 448844 / theatreroyal.org.uk

Photo Credit: Marc Brenner

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