Robert Bathurst and Patricia Hodge will lead the cast of The Rivals, a 250th anniversary of Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s comic classic coming to Orange Tree Theatre this November.
Tom Littler will direct Bathurst as Anthony Absolute and Hodge as Mrs Malaprop, alongside Pete Ashmore (Frederick Arnold Gieves), Joëlle Brabban (Lucy), Zoe Brough (Lydia Languish), Dylan Corbett-Bader (Bob Acres), Jim Findley (Thomas), Colm Gormley (Lucius O’Trigger), Robert Maskell (David), Boadicea Ricketts (Julia Melville), James Sheldon (‘Faulty’ Faulkland) and Kit Young (Jack Absolute).
You thought! Thought does not become a young woman.
Bath in the Roaring Twenties: risqué revelry, romance, and rivalry in the Assembly Rooms – a town torn between tradition and the new age.
Lydia and Jack are made for each other – but Lydia’s a rebel and Jack’s too posh to be her beau. What’s a chap to do? A little harmless deception, of course. Meanwhile, Jack’s father, Anthony Absolute, is absolutely determined to be obeyed, and Lydia’s guardian Mrs Malaprop is seeking a love-affair of her own – if only she could find the right words…
The creative team also includes set and costume designers Anett Black and Neil Irish, lighting designer William Reynolds, sound designer and compositor Tom Attwood, movement direction Leah Harris, assistant director Freya Griffiths, costume supervision Emma Kylmälä and casting consultant Ginny Schiller.
The Rivals plays from November 29, 2025 – January 24, 2026. Tickets here.
Top image: The Rivals cast (image supplied)