22 March – 20 April

DAVID MORRISSEY and MATHEW HORNE star in a new staging of Pinter’s THE LOVER / THE COLLECTION at the Ustinov Studio alongside Claudie Blakley and Elliot Barnes-Worrell. Lindsay Posner directs this compelling double bill of works by Harold Pinter, one of the most influential British dramatists of the last century. 

The two plays showcase Pinter’s unique and darkly comic perception of love, marriage and relationships. The Lover is a quirky, tense and intriguing glimpse at the private intricacies of modern marriage; The Collection is a comic play of suspense and sexual jealousy between two couples, sparked by an anonymous phone call in the dead of night. 

David Morrissey stars as Richard in The Lover and Harry in The Collection. During his forty-year career he has starred in television series on both sides of the Atlantic, in roles including Stephen Collins in State of Play, for which he was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Actor; ACC George Oldfield in The Long Shadow; DCS Ian St Clair in Sherwood; Philip ‘The Governor’ Blake in The Walking Dead; Maurice Jobson in the Red Riding trilogy, and Aulus in Britannia. His film credits include Nowhere Boy, Centurion, Robin Hood and The Other Boleyn Girl. He has starred in productions for the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre, and worked with acclaimed directors including Adrian Noble, Deborah Warner, Nicholas Hytner and Declan Donnellan. David’s many stage credits include Mark Anthony in Julius Caesar at London’s Bridge Theatre; The End of History at London’s Royal Court, and the title role in The Hangman at the Royal Court and in the West End.

Mathew Horne stars as John in The Lover and James in The Collection. His screen credits include Roy Silver in Agatha Raisin, Gavin in Gavin and Stacey, Shaquille Fraser in Bad Education, Jon Moss in Worried About The Boy, multiple characters in The Catherine Tate Show and Jamie in The Nan Movie. His many stage credits include Noises Off in the West End; Rain Man on UK tour; Charley’s Aunt in London and Bath in 2012; The Miser in the West End and at Bath’s Theatre Royal in 2017, and The Homecoming, which opened in Bath in 2022 followed by a UK tour.

The roles of Sarah in The Lover and Stella in The Collection are played by Claudie Blakley, whose television credits include Lark Rise to Candleford, Manhunt, Grantchester and Father Brown, with stage credits including Consent at the Harold Pinter Theatre in the West End and Stories at the National Theatre. Elliot Barnes-Worrell, whose credits include The Killing Kind for Paramount+ and Small Island at National Theatre, plays the role of Bill in The Collection.

Director Lindsay Posner returns to the Ustinov Studio following his widely acclaimed productions of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and A View From The Bridge, which transfers to the West End this spring after its recent opening run in Bath. One of the UK’s most accomplished directors, he has received plaudits for numerous productions in the West End, at the Royal Court, National Theatre, RSC and London’s Old Vic. His recent credits at the Theatre Royal Bath also include Noises Off in the Main House and Farewell Mister Haffmann at the Ustinov Studio.

The Lover / The Collection appears at the Ustinov Studio at the Theatre Royal Bath until Saturday 20^th April. To book tickets contact the Theatre Royal Bath Box Office on 01225 448844 and online at www.theatreroyal.org.uk/ustinov

Photo credit: Nobby Clark