JENNIFER SAUNDERS to star in Edward Bond’s THE SEA at Theatre Royal Bath

Jennifer Saunders stars as Mrs Rafi, one of the greatest comic roles in British theatre, in the first major revival of Edward Bond’s intoxicating The Sea for almost two decades, appearing at the Theatre Royal Bath from Thursday 22 October to Saturday 7 November. Presented by Theatre Royal Bath Productions, The Sea is a fascinating blend of wild farce, high comedy, biting social satire and bleak poetic tragedy.

It is 1907, the height of the Edwardian era. A wild storm shakes a small East Anglian seaside village to its core. Amidst the confusion, Mr Hatch, the local draper, wrestles with the possibility that aliens from outer space may be ready to invade, and the village’s self-appointed ‘First Lady’ Mrs. Rafi, prepares her ladies for an amateur dramatic performance of Orpheus and Eurydice National treasure Jennifer Saunders returns to Bath following her previous appearance as the iconic Madame Arcati in the record-breaking West End production of Blithe Spirit. Jennifer Saunders is much loved for the sketch show French and Saunders, for which she and Dawn French received a BAFTA Fellowship, and hit comedy series and movie, Absolutely Fabulous.

Jonathan Munby is a British theatre director whose career spans classical and contemporary work across the UK and internationally, including major productions for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Donmar Warehouse, Young Vic and Shakespeare’s Globe.

Playwright, poet and theatre theorist Edward Bond’s play The Sea, originally premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in London in May 1973, before being revived at the National Theatre in 1991 and at Theatre Royal Haymarket in 2008 starring Eileen Atkins and David Haig.

To book tickets for THE SEA book online at theatreroyal.org.uk or contact the Theatre Royal Bath Box Office on 01225 448844

Associates booking is open from Saturday 14 February, Friends booking is open from Monday 16 February and General booking opens from Monday 23 February.