Jane Horrocks to star in Harold Pinter’s The Birthday Party

Rehearsals are underway for Harold Pinter’s classic comedy of menace, The Birthday Party…

The production will star Jane Horrocks, which will play at the Ustinov Studio, Theatre Royal Bath from Friday 2 – Saturday 31 August. The full cast includes Jane Horrocks as Meg, Caolan Byrne as McCann, Carla Harrison-Hodge as Lulu, John Marquez as Goldberg, Sam Swainsbury as Stanley and Nicolas Tennant as Petey.

A seemingly innocent birthday party in a rundown seaside boarding house becomes a full-on nightmare when two sinister strangers arrive unexpectedly.

Jane Horrocks’s stellar career has embraced roles ranging from Bubble in the TV sensation Absolutely Fabulous – which she’ll shortly be seen on UKTV in a reunion special – to West End acclaim in The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, and Nicola in Mike Leigh’s Life is Sweet to voicing memorable characters in multi-award nominated movies Corpse Bride and Chicken Run.  

Jane with the ‘Ab Fab’ gang for a forthcoming reunion for UKTV’s Gold channel

Director Richard Jones returns to the Ustinov Studio following last year’s phenomenally acclaimed Machinal, which transferred to London’s Old Vic Theatre earlier this year. Deborah Warner’s 2024 season as Artistic Director of the Ustinov Studio also includes Echo and Narcissus, a brand-new work by Kim Brandstrup completing his trilogy of works inspired by Greek mythology which is currently performing until 6 July.

An exciting recital series led by the season’s Head of Music and Head of Music at the Royal Opera House, conductor and pianist Richard Hetherington, who performs Bach’s Ich habe genug with mezzo soprano Catherine Wyn-Rogers and countertenor Iestyn Davies with Sergio Bucheli offering an evening of lute songs including works of John Dowland.

The season opened with a five-star acclaimed staging of Schubert’s Winterreise (Winter Journey) directed by Deborah Warner and performed by internationally renowned tenor Ian Bostridge and pianist Julius Drake. Winterreise will return to the Ustinov Studio from 8-10 September 2024.

All shows are on sale now online at theatreroyal.org.uk or via the Theatre Royal Bath Box Office on 01225 448844