20 October – 18 November         Read our review on 31st October

Brand-new stage production of MACHINAL, Sophie Treadwell’s gripping drama based on a true story, opens at Bath’s Ustinov Studio

Sophie Treadwell’s extraordinary epic masterpiece, Machinal, takes to the stage from Friday 20^th October to Saturday 18^th November as part of the 2023/2024 Deborah Warner Season at Bath’s Ustinov Studio. Directed by five-time Olivier Award-winning director Richard Jones, the twelve-strong cast includes Rosie Sheehy (Oleanna, RSC), Tim Frances (Roman Holiday, Sister Boniface Mysteries), Buffy Davis (The Archers, Doc Martin) and Pierro Niel-Mee (Slow Horses, Shakespeare in Love).

Deborah Warner, Artistic Director of the Ustinov Studio, said:

“It gives me particular pleasure to welcome colleague, friend and master director Richard Jones to the Ustinov. Richard has a long relationship with Machinal and I am delighted he has chosen to premiere his production with us here in Bath.”

In 1927, New York housewife Ruth Snyder and her lover Judd Gray went on trial accused of the brutal murder of her husband. American Sophie Treadwell was one of the dozens of reporters assigned to cover the court case which proved a sensation. With a ringside seat at proceedings, the 42-year-old journalist, suffragist, playwright and author was inspired to write what became her most famous play, Machinal. Based on the true story of the committal and execution of Ruth Snyder, Treadwell’s provocative drama offers one of the greatest female roles in theatre – challenging, powerful, emotive and poignant.

Rosie Sheehy returns to Bath to play the central role in Machinal after memorably starring in Oleanna at the Ustinov Studio in 2020 and 2021, prior to a celebrated West End run. Rosie has also played leading roles at the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company. Her previous stage credits include Juliet in Romeo and Juliet at the National Theatre; the title role in King John for the RSC; Uncle Vanya for Theatre Clwyd and Sheffield Theatres, for which she won the Best Female Performance in the English Language at the Wales Theatre Awards 2018; Strife at Chichester Festival Theatre; The Hairy Ape at London’s Old Vic Theatre and The Whale at the Ustinov Studio in 2018. Her screen credits include BBC’s Steeltown Murders and Call The Midwife, ITV’s Wild Bill and DCI Banks, and the Sky series Chernobyl.

Tim Frances returns for his seventh production at the Theatre Royal Bath, having most recently performed in the Main House in Roman Holiday this summer. His many West End credits include Witness of the Prosecution, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, The 39 Steps, An Inspector Calls and A Man for all Seasons. His screen credits include Sister Boniface Mysteries, Land Girls, The Trial of Christine Keeler, Four Lives and The Day of the Triffids.

Buffy Davis is perhaps best known for her role as Jolene, landlady of The Bull, in nearly 400 episodes of The Archers. Her film credits include The Machinist, Anna Karenina and Hyde Park on Hudson. Her television roles include playing Pippa Woodley in Doc Martin, Pearl in The Night Manager, and guest appearances in numerous series ranging from The Outlaws and Silk to Chucklevision and Taggart. On stage, she has performed at London’s Old Vic, the National Theatre, Young Vic, Park Theatre, Wilton’s Music Hall, and regionally including at Plymouth Theatre Royal and Scarborough’s Stephen Joseph Theatre.

Pierro Niel-Mee’s previous performances at the Theatre Royal Bath include Deborah Warner’s 2022 production of The Tempest at the Ustinov Studio, and Shakespeare in Love in the Main House in 2018. His stage credits also include The Hypocrite and Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies at the Royal Shakespeare Company. On screen, he has appeared in Slow Horses for Apple TV, BBC’s Casualty and ITV’s Lewis.

Also making a welcome return to Bath’s Theatre Royal is Wendy Nottingham, who played Mrs Crabb in all four series of Mr Selfridge and Mary in series three of Peaky Blinders. Wendy has worked frequently with writer and director Mike Leigh, appearing in his films Vera Drake, Secrets & Lies, Topsy-Turvy! and The Short & Curlies, and Leigh’s play Grief, which toured to Bath in 2011. Wendy also played the Theatre Royal’s Main House in 2002, when she starred in Abigail’s Party. Sam Alexander returns to the Theatre Royal after playing Teddy in The Homecoming in 2002. His recent television credits include the roles of Trooper Scott in The English and Rhys in Emmerdale. His stage credits include The Watsons at Chichester Festival Theatre and The Lady in the Van and Racing Demon in the Theatre Royal Bath’s 2017 Summer Season.

The cast is completed by Daniel Abelson, Steven Beard, Daniel Bowerbank, Imogen Daines, Carla Harrison-Hodge and Emilio Iannucci.

Acclaimed theatre and opera director Richard Jones has directed productions on some of London’s largest stages including the Coliseum and the Royal Opera House. He now brings his unique talent for epic scale to the powerful intimacy of the Ustinov Studio, in what promises to be one of this year’s most memorable theatrical events.  

Sophie Treadwell (1885 – 1970) was an American playwright and journalist. In her lifetime, she wrote at least thirty-nine plays, as well as short stories, numerous journalistic articles and several novels. She made her name in San Francisco where she went undercover to expose the lack of charitable help for homeless women. In 1915, she became one of the first female war correspondents. Whilst Machinal remains her best-known play, some of her other works which appeared on Broadway include Lone Valley, Ladies Leave, Gringo, O Nightingale, Plumes in the Dust and Hope for a Harvest.

Machinal received its world premiere on Broadway in 1928, where it was a huge hit, and featured a young Clark Gable making his Broadway debut. The play made its West End debut three years later under the title The Life Machine, after initially being banned by the Lord Chamberlain before appearing with a strict adults’ only policy. The fascinating case of Ruth Snyder has inspired many plays, films, books and songs, including Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity, James M. Cain’s novel and David Mamet’s screenplay The Postman Always Rings Twice, William March’s The Bad Seeds and Guns ‘n’ Roses Use Your Illusion albums.

Machinal has appeared in multiple lists of the greatest plays. In 2015, it was selected by theatre critic Michael Billington in his list of the 101 Greatest Plays ever written in any western language. It was also ranked in The Independent’s 2019 selection of the 40 Best Plays of All Time, and Broadway World’s 2020 list of the 101 Greatest Plays of the past 100 years.

Tickets are on sale at the Theatre Royal Bath Box Office on 01225 448844 and online at www.theatreroyal.org.uk/ustinov