Man And Boy - Theatre Royal

This is a chance to see a rarely performed play, by one of the 20th century's greatest playwrights and a theatrical event not to be missed.

Written in 1963, this first revival of Terence Rattigan's Man And Boy in over four decades is directed by Maria Aitken, one of our leading stage, film and television actresses, who frequently directs for the theatre both in America and the UK.

Through Rattigan's beautifully crafted scenes, we are transported to 1930s Manhattan, and to a high-octane world of spin and financial politics, where style far outweighs sincerity.

Gregor Antonescu, (played by David Suchet) is a powerful financier whose advice is sought by presidents, ministers and kings, but his world is about to fall down around him. After newspaper headlines report that the FBI is looking for Antonescu, his wife and business associates start to desert him one by one.

Meanwhile, in Basil Anthony's basement apartment in a run down neighbourhood in New York, news reports announce the empire of Gregor Antonescu, Basil's estranged father, the most influential financier in the world, is on the verge of collapse, in a financial crisis so monumental it will shake the foundations of the economic world.

When Antonescu arrives at Basil's door, to face the son who disowned him five years ago after a bitter family feud, both man and boy find themselves in a confrontation that will change their lives forever, and at the centre of a catastrophe so disastrous that it could change the course of history.

Terence Rattigan explores the relationship between a father and son in this intriguing drama set in 1930's New York against a backdrop of love, betrayal and high finance.

The author of some of the greatest plays in British drama, Terence Rattigan wrote more than 40 plays including The Browning Version, The Winslow Boy, The Deep Blue Sea and Separate Tables.

David Suchet has appeared in countless acclaimed productions for stage, television and screen during his varied career.

Best-known on television for his long-standing role as Agatha Christie's Poirot, David Suchet is the winner of numerous awards, including Best Actor Awards for Blott On The Landscape and The Life Of Freud on television; Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? and Oleanna on stage (which appeared in Bath in 1993); and Red Monarch and Song For Europe on film.

He last performed at the Theatre Royal Bath in Amadeus in 1998 prior to a hugely successful West End and Broadway run, for which he received Olivier and Tony Best Actor nominations.

Suchet's numerous television appearances also include George Carmen QC, The Way We Live Now, Murder in Mind, and Victoria & Albert. David was awarded an OBE in the Queen's 2002 Jubilee Year Birthday Honours List.

David Yelland stars as Sven Johnson. A favourite with Bath audiences, Yelland has appeared at the Theatre Royal Bath on many occasions, most recently in As You Like It and Cuckoos for The Peter Hall Company in 2003.

Yelland's numerous television appearances include Bad Girls, Dalziel and Pascoe, A Bit Of A Do, Poirot, the title role in David Copperfield, and the film Chariots Of Fire.

The play also stars Ben Silverstone, Colin Stinton, Emma Ferguson, Jennifer Lee Jellicorse and Will Higgins.

Man And Boy

Theatre Royal Bath

Monday until October 23