Jennifer Saunders to star in new stage production of The Sea
Described as a ‘biting social satire’, The Sea will run at the Theatre Royal Bath from October 22 to November 7.
Actress and comedian Jennifer Saunders is to take to the stage to perform “one of the greatest comic roles in British theatre”.
The Absolutely Fabulous star will play Mrs Rafi in the first major revival of Edward Bond’s The Sea for almost two decades.
Set in 1907 during the Edwardian era, the play is described as a “blend of wild farce, high comedy, biting social satire and bleak poetic tragedy”.
The Sea will run at the Theatre Royal Bath from October 22 to November 7.
Saunders returns to Bath following her previous appearance as Madame Arcati in the West End production of Blithe Spirit.
The Bafta award-winning actress is best known for creating and starring in Absolutely Fabulous, as well as being one half of the comedy duo French and Saunders alongside Dawn French. She has featured in a variety of TV, film and stage work stretching back four decades.
The Sea is set in a small East Anglian seaside village, where its “self-appointed First Lady, Mrs Rafi, prepares her ladies for an amateur dramatic performance of Orpheus and Eurydice”, a spokesman said.
The play will be directed by Jonathan Munby, who is also known for productions at the Royal Shakespeare Company, Young Vic and Shakespeare’s Globe.
The Sea originally premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in London in 1973, before being revived at the National Theatre in 1991 and at Theatre Royal Haymarket in 2008, where it starred Eileen Atkins and David Haig.
