Summer 1954

Summer, 1954.

The atmosphere at The Beauregard Private Hotel, Bournemouth is one of repressed emotions and post-war gentility. In this world of hushed conversations and quiet anonymity, an unlikely friendship develops between a repressed spinster and a retired Army officer. But when a newspaper threatens to reveal the Major’s secret, will the other residents cast him out for good?

Meanwhile, in the heart of the Midlands, a long-serving Classics teacher is on the verge of retirement from his distinguished public school. Diminished by poor health, a crumbling marriage, the distain of his colleagues and the derision of his pupils, he is given cause to re-examine his life when a young student offers an unexpected gesture of kindness.

Olivier Award winner James Dacre directs an ensemble cast including Nathaniel Parker, Dame Siân Phillips, Lolita Chakrabarti, Alexandra Dowling, Angela Jones, Jeremy Neumark Jones, Simon Coates, Richenda Carey, Kishore Walker, Pamela Miles, Fiona Tong, Rosalind Lailey and Bertie Hawes, in this double bill from one of Britain’s most popular twentieth century playwrights, Terence Rattigan. His one act masterpieces The Browning Version and Table Number Seven (from Separate Tables) are paired together for the first time, capturing one quietly momentous evening seventy years ago.

Olivier Award winner Nathaniel Parker is well-loved by TV audiences for playing the title character in the long-running BBC series The Inspector Lynley Mysteries. As well as countless lead roles in television dramas, he has regularly appeared onstage for the RSC, including the as Henry VIII in the internationally acclaimed Wolf Hall and Bringing Up The Bodies in Straford -Upon-Avon, in the West End and on Broadway.

In a career spanning eight decades, Multi award-winning Dame Siân Phillips’ many memorable screen credits range from her BAFTA-winning role in the BBC’s adaptation of I, Claudius in 1976 to guest roles in New Tricks, Under Milk Wood, Casualty, Lewis, and the TV adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s detective novels Strike. Siân’s prestigious stage career has seen her nominated for Olivier Awards for Pal Joey, A Little Night Music, Cabaret and the title role in Marlene. 

Summer 1954 – Tour Dates 2024/25:
5 - 9 November 2024 Malvern Theatre
12 - 16 November 2024 Cambridge Arts Theatre
21 - 25 January 2025 Chichester Festival Theatre
27 January - 1 February 2025 Richmond Theatre
3 - 8 February 2025 Cheltenham Everyman Theatre
11 - 15 February 2025  Oxford Playhouse