A BRAND new production of Talking Heads starring Stephanie Cole, Siobhan Redmond and Karl Theobald opens at the Theatre Royal Bath appearing from Wednesday 22 July to Saturday 8 August as part of the Summer Season.

Offering an unmissable chance to see three of Alan Bennett’s original hugely-acclaimed monologues, at once darkly comic, poignant and uplifting, and widely regarded as modern classics; Talking Heads features A Cream Cracker Under the Settee, A Lady of Letters and A Chip in the Sugar.

A Cream Cracker Under the Settee stars Stephanie Cole as 75-year-old widow Doris, obsessive about tidiness and maintaining her independence, but fearful she might be moved to a care home. Lying on the floor after a fall, Doris spies a cream cracker under the settee, which she determines to use as evidence against her incompetent home help. The original television production performed by Thora Hird in 1988 was nominated for three BAFTA awards.

A Lady of Letters stars Siobhan Redmond as Miss Ruddock, a working class singleton who is not afraid to speak, or write, her mind. Watching the world from behind her curtains, she constantly dashes off letters expressing her ill-informed opinions; but Miss Ruddock’s obsession with remedying the social ills she sees around her soon lands her in hot water.

A Chip in the Sugar stars Karl Theobald as devoted son Graham Whittaker whose life begins to unravel when he discovers his aging mother has taken up with an old flame, Frank Turnbull. As Mr Turnbull’s influence over his mother grows, so does Graham’s jealousy and his suspicion that Frank is hiding a secret. Alan Bennett performed the role of Graham in the original television production in 1988.

Alan Bennett has been a household name for more than forty years. His reputation as the master of observation and brilliant comic phrasing was sealed with his series of ground-breaking Talking Heads. Originally filmed for television, Talking Heads was broadcast across two series in 1988 and 1998, each of which featured six separate dramatic monologues. One of the most distinctive voices in British theatre, his impeccably-observed plays include Single Spies, Enjoy, Forty Years On, Habeas Corpus and The Lady in the Van.

Talking Heads appears at the Theatre Royal Bath from Wednesday 22 July to Saturday 8 August. Tickets are available from the Theatre Royal Bath Box Office on 01225 448844 or online at www.theatreroyal.org.uk