2 May – 1 June Read our review 16 June
TAMSIN GREIG and OLIVER CHRIS lead the cast in Terence Rattigan’s powerful drama THE DEEP BLUE SEA at the Ustinov Studio.
A new production of The Deep Blue Sea, Terence Rattigan’s 1950’s study of obsession and the destructive power of love, opens in Bath starring Olivier Award winner Tamsin Greig (Green Wing, Black Books, Episodes) as Hester and Oliver Chris (Motherland, Trying, Bluestone 42) as Freddie. Directed by Lindsay Posner, The Deep Blue Sea will appear at the Ustinov Studio at the Theatre Royal Bath from Thursday 2nd May to Saturday 1st June.
When you’re stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea, the deep blue sea can sometimes look very inviting. In this compelling drama of passion versus loyalty, Hester Collyer, the daughter of a clergyman and wife of a judge is floundering in the closing stages of a hopeless affair. Freddie Page, her lover, a handsome but shallow ex-Battle of Britain pilot, is out of his depth in their relationship, overwhelmed by the strength of an emotion he is incapable of reciprocating.
Tamsin Greig is one of the country’s best-loved stage and screen actresses in a career spanning four decades. She won the Olivier Award for Best Actress in 2007 for Much Ado About Nothing, and received nominations for The Little Dog Laughed and Women on the Verge of a Breakdown. Her screen credits include some of the most successful British television comedies, amongst them Green Wing, Black Books, Episodes, Love Soup and Friday Night Dinner. Tamsin has also played Debbie Aldridge in Radio 4’s The Archers, and was the voice of Mummy in The Tiger Who Came To Tea. Her film credits include Tamara Drewe, Cuckoo, Official Secrets and Shaun of the Dead.
Oliver Chris is an actor and writer whose work encompasses stage, television, and film. His stage credits include King Charles III at the Almeida Theatre, in the West End and on Broadway; Nicholas Hytner’s hit adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at London’s Bridge Theatre, and One Man, Two Guvnors at the National Theatre, in the West End and on Broadway, for which he was nominated for an Olivier Award. As a writer his first play, Jack Absolute Flies Again, co-written with Richard Bean, opened at the National Theatre in 2022. His television credits include Motherland, Trying, Green Wing, Foundation and Maternal. He can soon be seen in My Lady Jane for Amazon and Jilly Cooper’s Rivals on Disney+.
The company is completed by Tony Award nominee Finbar Lynch (Not About Nightingales at the National Theatre, Girl from The North Country in the West End) as Miller, Nicholas Farrell (Chariots of Fire, Hamlet, Othello, In the Bleak Midwinter, House of Cards) as Sir William Collyer, Felicity Montagu (Bridget Jones’s Diary, I’m Alan Partridge, Nighty Night) as Mrs Elton, Marc Elliott (The Father and the Assassin at the National Theatre, Macbeth for the RSC, Syed Masood in EastEnders) as Jackie Jackson, Preston Nyman as Philip Welch and Lisa Ambalavanar as Ann Welch.
Director Lindsay Posner returns to the Ustinov Studio following recent productions of A View from The Bridge, which is about to transfer to the West End, and The Lover / The Collection, which also enjoyed a sold-out 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 Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Farewell Mister Haffmann at the Ustinov Studio.
The creative team also features Peter McKintosh (Set & Costume Designer), Paul Pyant (Lighting Designer), Gregory Clarke (Sound Designer), Will Stuart (Composer), Carole Hancock (Hair, Wigs & Make-up Designer), Ginny Schiller CDG (Casting Director) and George Jibson (Associate Director).
To book tickets contact the Theatre Royal Bath Box Office on 01225 448844 or book online at theatreroyal.org.uk
Photo credit: Manuel Harlan
