Crimes on Centre Court, the latest comedy thriller from Theatre Royal Bath favourites New Old Friends will see the action play out on the courts of Whombledun with another dose of mirth, murder and mayhem, this time with a side of tennis.
Crimes on Centre Court, based on a story from New Old Friends’ award-winning podcast (#2 in iTunes fiction chart), will open in Bath in May before a national autumn tour, serving countless characters with quick-fire changes and quicker wits.
Lord Knows, the chair of The Whombledun International Invitational Tennis Tournament, has died and his son Hugh, is suspicious. The police won’t take the case so Hugh calls in Perry & Penny Pink, private investigators. This deucey summertime treat will rally the spirits and leave you wanting a second serve-ing of the volley of gags and visual delights. The Bath based company have built a national reputation with their wildly inventive set-pieces, twisty plots and commitment to unadulterated entertainment.
Feargus Woods Dunlop said, “We are utterly thrilled to be presenting a brand-new show despite the impact of the pandemic still being keenly felt. We hope that this blast of tennis-inspired nonsense can kick off a summer of joy and laughter. Setting a murder mystery against the backdrop of a sporting competition gives us a whole new palette of cliches and expectations to play with. Staging a tennis match safely on stage has been a hugely fun challenge and this time we’ve decided to add in close four-part barbershop harmonies too. Sung by the hedges of Whombledun obviously.”
New Old Friends are an award-winning theatre company dedicated to creating original comedy theatre, founded in 2008 and run by husband and wife team Feargus Woods Dunlop and Heather Westwell. Most recently, they staged the 2022 national tour of Crimes, Camera, Action following festive farce A Christmas Getaway at Theatre Royal Bath (December 2021) which was highlighted as one of inews’ Top Christmas shows for 2021. 2020 saw New Old Friends release the first in a new audio drama series Comedy Whodunnits For Your Ears, with Crimes Against Christmas (OnComm Award winner) charting at #2 in the Apple iTunes Fiction chart and inside the top 200 overall podcast charts as well as featuring on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row. Recent instalments also include Crimes, Clues and Christmas, Crimes of a Country Garden and the original podcast form of Crimes on Centre Court.
In 2022, New Old Friends were awarded the Bath Life Arts Award, having previously been awarded the Creative Bath Award for writing in 2017 and 2018. Previous shows also include six instalments of the hugely popular Crimes… series of comedy thrillers. In summer 2019, their adaptation of Anthony Horowitz’ The Falcon’s Malteser enjoyed a six-week run at London’s Vaults Theatre. It was selected as a ‘Critic’s Choice’ for ‘Best Family Shows’ by the Guardian. Their latest adaptation for families, Swiss Family Robinson (Top 40 Christmas shows 2019, inews) premiered at The Core at Corby Cube in 2019.
