Rula Lenska Joins Hayley Mills & Paul Nicholas Led THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL UK Tour

Another of the UK's best-loved actors, Rula Lenska, (ITV's Rock Follies, Coronation Street, Channel 4's Celebrity Big Brother) is the latest cast member to be confirmed for the upcoming tour of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. The Titian-haired star joins recently announced cast members Hayley Mills (Pollyanna, The Parent Trap, Whistle Down the Wind) and Paul Nicholas (Jesus Christ Superstar, BBC 1's Just Good Friends, Eastenders) in this feel-good tale of love, adventure, and starting-over which starts a major new UK tour in Richmond this September.

Rula Lenska was born Countess Roza-Marie Leopoldyna Lubienska in St. Neots to Polish parents who had fled their homeland, their family estate having been confiscated by Communist forces. Following her education at an Ursuline College in Kent, she became an actor, gaining her first notable starring role in Rock Follies in 1976, going on to appear in many iconic television series such as Robin of Sherwood, Doctor Who, EastEnders, To The Manor Born and Minder, ITV's Coronation Street as Claudia Colby, and most recently a BAFTA-nominated Inside No 9 for BBC 2.

A passionate stage actor, she has appeared in The Vagina Monologues, Calendar Girls, Pygmalion, Seven Deadly Sins, Four Deadly Sinners, Eurobeat at the Edinburgh Festival, and 84 Charing Cross Road. She is involved in the development of a one-woman show about Rita Hayworth.

When not working Rula is a devoted grandmother and a practicing Buddhist, who is involved in the support of several conservation charities such as Born Free, Animal Asia, and The Daphne Sheldrick Trust.

She has lent her instantly recognizable voice to several audiobooks and was in several series of the much-loved radio show, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which first aired on BBC Radio 4 in May 2005. Her autobiography My Colourful Life is available now.

Paula Wilcox was previously announced to join the cast but has had to withdraw from the production due to scheduling. Further casting is to be confirmed.

The play's book is written by Deborah Moggach who now adapts her bestselling novel 2004's These Foolish Things for the stage, it having previously inspired the BAFTA and Golden Globe-nominated film. The cherished story will be brought to life on stage when it opens at the Richmond Theatre on Monday 5th September 2022 and is directed by Lucy Bailey (Oleanna, UK Tour & West End); Gaslight, UK Tour; Witness for the Prosecution, London's County Hall).

Based on the Sunday Times bestseller which inspired one of this century's most treasured films, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel takes us on a journey to India with an eclectic group of British retirees as they embark on a new life. The luxury residence is far from the opulence they were promised, but as their lives begin to intertwine and they embrace the vibrancy of modern-day India, they are charmed in unexpected and life-changing ways.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is a joyous, feel-good comedy about taking risks, finding love, and embracing second chances, even in the most surprising of places.

The film The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (directed by John Madden) saw its UK theatrical release in 2012. Within two weeks of its cinematic distribution, the film had topped the UK Box Office and went on to become a hit internationally performing as one of the highest-grossing films of 2012 in Australia and New Zealand in addition to the United Kingdom.

The interwoven stories of the film's stellar ensemble, which included Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith, Penelope Wilson, Tom Wilkinson, Celie Imrie, and Ronald Pickup - with Dev Patel as the put-upon owner of a past-its-best hotel for 'the elderly and beautiful' - shone a light on issues such as the outsourcing of care and NHS treatments, the complexity of family relationships around the world, love, compassion, and companionship in our twilight years.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is produced by Simon Friend, Jenny King, Trafalgar Entertainment and Gavin Kalin.

Get ready for the journey of a lifetime.

www.marigoldshow.com

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - 2022 Tour Dates

Mon 5th - Sat 10 Sept Box Office: 03330 096 690

Richmond Theatre, Richmond www.atgtickets.com/venues/richmond-theatre

Tue 13 - Sat 17 Sept Box Office: 0114 249 6000

Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk

Tue 20 - Sat 24 Sept Box Office: 0844 871 7650

Theatre Royal, Brighton www.atgtickets.com/venues/theatre-royal-brighton

Tue 27 Sept - Sat 1 Oct Box Office: 0844 8717647

Theatre Royal, Glasgow www.atgtickets.com/venues/theatre-royal-glasgow

Tue 4 - Sat 8 Oct Box Office: 08448 11 21 21

Theatre Royal, Newcastle www.theatreroyal.co.uk

Tue 11 - Sat 5 Oct Box Office: 01872 262 466

Hall for Cornwall, Truro www.hallforcornwall.co.uk

On sale soon

Tue 18 - Sat 22 Oct Box Office: 0343 310 0020

Churchill Theatre, Bromley www.churchilltheatre.co.uk

Mon 24 - Sat 29 Oct Box Office: 01603 630 000

Theatre Royal, Norwich www.norwichtheatre.org

Tue 1 Oct - Sat 5 Nov Box Office: 0116 242 3595

Curve, Leicester www.curveonline.co.uk

Tue 8 - Sat 12 Nov Box Office: 0343 208 6000

The Lowry, Salford www.thelowry.com

Tue 15 - Sat 19 Nov Box Office: 0333 009 6690

New Victoria Theatre, Woking www.atgtickets.com/venues/new-victoria-theatre

Tue 22 - Sat 26 Nov Box Office: 01223 503 333

Cambridge Arts Theatre www.cambridgeartstheatre.com

Mon 28 Nov - Sat 3 Dec Box Office: 01225 448 844

Theatre Royal, Bath www.theatreroyal.org.uk

2023 Tour Dates

Tue 17 - Sat 21 Jan Box Office: 01227 787787

Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury www.marlowetheatre.com

Tue 24 - Sat 28 Jan Box Office: 0333 009 6690

Milton Keynes Theatre https://www.atgtickets.com/venues/milton-keynes-theatre/

Tue 7 - Sat 11 Feb Box Office: 0115 989 5555

Theatre Royal, Nottingham www.trch.co.uk

Hayley Mills Biography

Since starting her career at the age of nine, Hayley Mills has shot 33 feature films and has been nominated for many awards. Hayley was twelve years old when she made her first feature film, Tiger Bay, and won an Academy Award at the age of thirteen in 1961 for her leading performance in Pollyanna. She went on to star in such films as The Parent Trap (1961), Whistle Down the Wind (1961), The Family Way (1966), Endless Night (1971), and Appointment With Death (1988).

Recent screen credits include Moving On & Pitching In for BBC One; Compulsion for Channel 5 and the feature film, Last Train to Christmas, directed by Julian Kemp. On stage, Hayley most recently performed off-Broadway in a new comedy play, Party Face, directed by Amanda Bearse.

Paul Nicholas Biography

Paul Nicholas became a household favourite in the role of Vince Pinner in the celebrated British sitcom Just Good Friends which won the BAFTA award for Best Comedy Series. Paul has continued to star in many TV series including the evil Gavin Sullivan in EastEnders and can be seen as himself in the BAFTA-nominated series The Real Marigold Hotel and Marigold On Tour.

On stage, Paul's theatrical success began more than fifty years ago in 1968 when he originated the role of Claude in the London premiere of Hair. Following this, in 1972 he originated the role of Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar. He starred as Danny Zuko in the original West End production of Grease with Elaine Page and as the Rum Tum Tugger in the original production of Cats. His other leading role musical credits include The Exorcist UK Tour, Quartet Cheltenham Theatre and UK tour, Jekyll & Hyde, Barnum, 42nd Street, Singing In The Rain, Dr. Doolittle, A Christmas Carol, Pirates of Penzance, Tale of Two Cities, Fiddler On The Roof and Jerry Herman's Dear World.

Most recently, Paul's theatrical ventures have included leading roles in The Exorcist directed by Sean Mathias for a UK tour; Quartet directed by Peter Rowe for the Cheltenham Everyman Theatre and a UK tour; And Then There Were None directed by Joe Harmston for a UK tour Paul has also co-produced numerous shows including Grease, Singing in the Rain, Evita, Pirates of Penzance, Chess and Saturday Night Fever. In 2021 Paul published his autobiography Musicals, Marigolds & Me and a three-CD boxset Paul Nicholas Gold featuring his pop and musical career including Jesus Christ Superstar, Cats, Hair, and Grease.