Theatre Royal Bath Productions today announces a new production of Daphne du Maurier’s psychological thriller My Cousin Rachel, starring Helen George (BBC One’s Call The Midwife) in the titular role. Adapted by Joseph O’Connor and directed by Anthony Banks, the production will run in Theatre Royal Bath’s Main House from 13 to 23 November.
My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier, author of Rebecca and Don’t Look Now, enthralled readers when it was first published in 1951 and went on to become an international bestseller. This acclaimed stage adaptation by Joseph O’Connor premiered at Dublin’s Gate Theatre in 2012 and now returns to the stage in a brand new production. The novel was also adapted for film in 2017.
Helen George said: “My Cousin Rachel was one of my favourite books when I was growing up, so I’m absolutely thrilled to be playing the wonderfully exotic and complex Rachel. I can’t wait to get my wig on!”
Ambrose Ashley, a wealthy landowner, is wintering in Italy when he meets a distant relation, Rachel. Everything changes as his young ward, Philip, receives news that Ambrose has married Rachel and then goes on to find that Ambrose has died suddenly, and his widow has gone. Philip, convinced that Rachel was responsible for Ambrose’s death, travels to meet her in Cornwall, only to become seduced by her charms. Philip is torn between believing that Rachel is a murderess and a gold-digger, or on the other hand that she is a maligned victim of rumour and suspicion.
