28 April – 3 May

New staging of PLAYHOUSE CREATURES starring Anna Chancellor and Katherine Kingsley visits the Theatre Royal Bath.

As one of only two tour venues direct from Richmond’s Orange Tree Theatre. Directed by Michael Oakley, the production stars Anna Chancellor (My Lady Jane, Pennyworth, The Split, Four Weddings and a Funeral), Katherine Kingsley (Unforgotten, Amandaland), Doña Croll (Family Affairs, Whitstable Pearl), Zoe Brough (West End: Harry Potter and The Cursed Child, The Nether) and Nicole Sawyerr (Bruised Sky, RSC).

It’s the swinging (16)60s, and ‘the merry monarch’ Charles II is on the throne. After violent civil war, England’s theatres have finally reopened and, for the first time, women are allowed to perform in public. In the West End, grande dame Mrs Betterton rules the roost. But there’s a new face in town: an orange-seller with dreams of stardom.

From dressing-room camaraderie to bitter rivalry, April De Angelis’ gloriously exuberant, bawdily funny and deeply poignant play celebrates five women grabbing this newfound freedom and making their way in an unfamiliar world. But at what price?

Anna Chancellor plays the role of Mrs Betterton. Anna grew up in Somerset and went to school in Wiltshire. Her many theatre credits include productions at the National Theatre, RSC, Donmar Warehouse, Royal Court Theatre, Chichester Festival Theatre, Pitlochry Festival Theatre, on UK tour and in the West End. Her recent television roles include playing Lady Frances Grey in My Lady Jane, Andi Woodward in Fifteen-Love, Frances Gaunt in Pennyworth, Allegra in Rain Dogs, Lady Latchmere in Hotel Portofino, Melanie in The Split, Hellen in That Dirty Black Bag and Lord Vetinari in The Watch. She also played Mercedes Page in Jupiter Moon, Janet Derbyshire in Pramface and Lady Anstruther in Downton Abbey, alongside roles in The Crown, Shetland, Inside No. 9, Penny Dreadful, Waking the Dead, Miranda, Rebus, Doc Martin, Tipping the Velvet, Pride and Prejudice, Poirot, Inspector Morse and many more. Anna’s numerous film credits include Stromboli, Mrs Harris Goes to Paris, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Come Away, Nativity Rocks!, The Happy Prince, Testament of Youth, St. Trinians, The Best Man, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, What A Girl Wants, The Dreamers, Crush and Killing Dad.

Three-time Olivier Award nominee Katherine Kingsley plays the role of Mrs Marshall. Her previous stage roles include playing Marlene Dietrich in Piaf at the Donmar and Lina Lamont in the West End production of Singin’ in the Rain. Also in the West End, she starred in the hit comedy The 39 Steps, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The 25^th Annual Putnam Country Spelling Bee, High Society, and played Helena in Michael Grandage Company’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She has also starred in productions at the National Theatre, for Theatre Royal Bath Productions on tour, Chichester Festival Theatre and Bristol Old Vic. Her screen credits include the primetime television series Unforgotten, Amandaland, Sister Boniface Mysteries, The Larkins, The Bill, Casualty and Bad Education. Katherine, who trained at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, has previously performed at the Theatre Royal Bath starring as Tracy Lord in High Society in 2005 and as Dusty Springfield in Dusty in 2018.

Doña Croll plays the role of Doll Common. Her theatre credits include The Doctor in the West End, Richard II at the RSC, Home at Chichester Festival Theatre, Pride and Prejudice at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre and on tour, Twelfth Night at Sheffield Theatres and All My Sons at the Royal Exchange Theatre and on tour. Spanning six decades, her television credits include playing Pearl McHugh in Family Affairs and roles in Whitstable Pearl, Death in Paradise, EastEnders, Casualty, Doctors, Emmerdale, Silent Witness, Eve, Moving On, US Girls and Boys from the Blackstuff; and the films Mr Malcom’s List and Love at First Sight. This production marks Doña Croll’s eighth production at the Theatre Royal Bath, with previous credits including Henry V in 1997, Elmina’s Kitchen in 2003, The American Plan at the Ustinov Studio in 2013, Pride and Prejudice in 2017, The Doctor in 2022, The Score in 2023 and a multi-media role on screen in George Orwell’s 1984 in 2024.

Zoe Brough appears as Nell Gwyn. Her theatre credits include The Still Room at London’s Park Theatre, Harry Potter and The Cursed Child in the West End, Bugsy Malone at the Lyric Hammersmith and The Nether at the Royal Court Theatre and in the West End. Her screen credits include Outrageous, Father Brown, and the film, Porcelain.

Nicole Sawyerr plays the role of Mrs Farley. Her stage credits include UK tours of My Mother’s Funeral: The Show and Wuthering Heights, Much Ado About Nothing at the RSC, Road for Northern Stage, Beneath the City for Birmingham Rep, Hansel and Gretel: The Fairytale Detectives at Theatre Clwyd, Aladdin at Perth Theatre and Miss-able for Dare to Dream at the Arcola Theatre.

Michael Oakley directs. His theatre credits include Infamous at the Jermyn Street Theatre; Gin Craze! at the Royal & Derngate; Wuthering Heights at Oxford Shakespeare Company; Romeo and Juliet and Much Ado About Nothing at Shakespeare’s Globe; No F*cks Given at the VAULT Festival; The Invisible at the Bush Theatre; The Life and Times of Fanny Hill at Bristol Old Vic; Variation on a Theme at the Finborough Theatre; Playhouse Creatures for Theatre on the Fly at Chichester Festival Theatre, and The Changeling at Southwark Playhouse Borough.

The creative team for Playhouse Creatures also includes Designer Fotini Dimou, Lighting Designer Elliot Griggs, Sound Designer and Composer Max Pappenheim, Movement Director Mandy Demetriou, Costume Supervisor Male Arcucci and Casting Director Annelie Powell CDG.

Playhouse Creatures appears at the Theatre Royal Bath from Monday 28^th April to Saturday 3^rd May. To book tickets contact the Theatre Royal Box Office on 01225 448844 or visit theatreroyal.org.uk

Photography credit: Ellie Kurtzz

This listing appears on our front page until 11:55pm on Saturday May 3rd, 2025