A DOUBLE bill of Alan Bennett plays wowed audiences at the Bath Theatre Royal with their witty and intriguing observations on the history of English espionage.

Single Spies, the hit double-bill, featuring An Englishman Abroad and A Question of Attribution, stars Nicholas Farrell, Belinda Lang and David Robb and was directed by Olivier Award-nominated Rachel Kavanaugh.

Set, respectively, in Moscow and London, the two one-act plays each focus on a different member of the Cambridge Five spy ring, who were recruited to work for the Soviet Union during the Second World War.

An Englishman Abroad centres on a lunch meeting between an actress, Coral Browne, and exiled spy Guy Burgess.

The title captures the overriding theme of this story, which is at times both amusing and sad.

Burgess, a soviet spy now living in Moscow, is, aside from his work for the Russians, the epitome of an Englishman. Though he shares the Marxist ideology of the Soviets, the similarities seem to end there.

He is, ultimately, a lonely man living in a country to which he doesn’t particularly belong. The joy of speaking with somebody with commonality only serves as a bleak reminder of his loneliness.

A Question of Attribution offers a glimpse into Anthony Blunt’s life of espionage within the very walls of Buckingham Palace.

Focussing on his double-life as an art historian to royalty and a Soviet spy, this witty tale of forgery and deceit culminates in a sharp and candid interrogation from Her Majesty The Queen, whose keen eye at times appear to glean his darkest secret.

Intelligent, funny, insightful and thought provoking – these two plays are an enchanting look into Britain’s history of spying in the mid-20th century.

The writing of Alan Bennett is sharp and attains hilarity without sacrificing profundity. Well worth a trip to Bath.

Single Spies is running now at the Theatre Royal in Bath until Saturday. Tickets are on sale at the Box Office on 01225 448844 or via www.theatreroyal.org.uk