Bath Voice News: coming up at the city’s theatres – a pick of some of the highlights from Bluffing Your Way In Ballet to Roman Holiday and Henry VI

Theatre Picks In Bath
Sun 4 – Sat 5 Jun. Burdall’s Yard. The One and Only. The story of Marie Lloyd, who died 100 years ago. Part of the Fringe Festival.
Mon 5 Jun – Wed 7 Jun. Mission Theatre. Bluffing Your Way In Ballet. A fast-paced and irreverent history and stories and dances from the ballet greats including Isadora Duncan, Anna Pavlova, Vaslav Nijinsky, Marie Rambert – and Darcey Bussell. There will also be a free pre-performance dance taster, offered with Alexandra Pickford, formerly of the Royal Ballet Company and English National Ballet, from 6:30 – 7:30pm. Ages 16+
Fri 9 Jun. Rondo Theatre. Celebrate Me. Polly Lamb’s comedy about a family celebrating Barbara’s 92nd birthday in a production by the Really Truly Theatre Company. Barbara is turning 92 and her birthday preparations are in full swing. The music will be vintage, the buffet won’t be beige, and the guest list is nearly complete. Dutiful Laura is buckling under the burden while her sister Michelle sips herbal tea and aligns her chakras. But behind the party balloons and banners, Barbara and her granddaughter Sophie are planning an alternative celebration which could shake up the relationships of six women for good.
Fri, 9-Sat, 10 Jun. Burdall’s Yard. Start Swimming. 7.30pm with a Sat Mat.Bath Spa Theatre Society presents Start Swimming written by James Fritz
Fri 9 Jun 2.30pm and Sat 10 jun 7.30pm. Mission Theatre. The Red Shoes. BUST present Hans Christian Anderson’s The Red Shoes, based on plays by Anna Maria Murphy, adapted by Emma Rice with music from Stu Barker. In this riotous retelling, a girl rebels against rigidity. Entrapped by this dance and social norms, can she stop, even when it matters most?
Fri 9 Jun 7:30pm, Sat 10 Jun 2:30pm. Mission Theatre. A Room With an Interview. In this student-written piece by Sophie Orford, eight lucky candidates attend a poorly constructed interview for a graduate scheme. Chaos ensues with tardy interviewers, old flings meeting again, and as everyone vies for the coveted role, romance begins to blossom in the most unlikely of places.
Sat 10 Jun-Sat 1 Jul. Theatre Royal Bath. Roman Holiday. Evening shows plus matinees on Wed and Sat. The 1953 movie with Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck did much to boost tourism in post war Rome – in this production the leads are Michael D. Xavier and Rebecca Collingwood who take the audience into the fanciful world of 1950s Italy where a youthful princess and an American journalist on a frenetic 24-hour adventure through the delights of the Italian capital featuring the music of Cole Porter to add to its romantic sparkle.
Thu 19 Jun. Rondo Theatre. The Half. Danielle Ward’s bitter sweet comedy about two female comedians reunited for a new show after not speaking to each other for years. Presented by Tread Softly Productions. As they prepare backstage to revive their comedy sketch show based on the cult gothic movie, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? their unresolved acrimonious split sees accusations spill out.
Thu 22 Jun. Ustinov Studio. Godot Was A Woman. A comic feminist and non-binary rebuttal to Samuel Beckett’s dictate that no woman can play the characters in Waiting for Godot. 8pm.
Sat 1 Jul. Rondo Theatre. The Marriage of Figaro . 7:30pm. Bath Opera bring Mozart’s comic opera to the city following a short tour. The production is set at Almaviva Studios, a big budget film studio in the 1950s run by a powerful and influential producer who insists on being called “The Count”.
Sat-Sun,1-2 Jul. Egg Theatre. The Snail and The Whale. Various performance times. A play with music inspired by the book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. Join an adventurous young girl and her seafaring father as they re-imagine the story of a tiny snail’s incredible trip around the world.
Tue 4-Wed 5 Jul. Masonic Hall at Old Theatre Royal The Haunting of Richard the Third. 7:30pm. The eve of the Battle of Bosworth Field: Richard the Third passes an uneasy night, visited by spectres who lead him through the journey of his life. This Richard is neither the villain of Shakespeare nor the hero of romantic fiction. He is driven to tragedy by a love for his family and political circumstances. The play was premiered at the Frome Festival last year by Kairos Theatre, a local company, who are now taking the production on a short tour.
Tue 4-Sat 8 Jul. Mission Theatre. A Streetcar Named Desire. Nightly at 7:30pm with a Sat matinee. Tennessee Williams’ drama about set in New Orleans – a powerful portrayal of love, lust and loneliness.
Wed 5-Sat 8 Jul. Rondo Theatre. Henry VI. 7:30pm. Rondo Theatre Company produces William Shakespeare’s trilogy of history plays (adapted by Nic Proud) in support of the Royal Osteoporosis Society. for students of the bard and for those who have not seen this classic of the canon – it’s a don’t miss.
Tue-Sat, 20-22 Jul. Kingswood Theatre, Lansdown. Oliver! With the students of Bath Theatre School who stage the musical version of the Charles Dickens’ novel with Lionel Bart’s Oliver!