Penelope Keith and Peter Bowles to Play West End Rivals

Penelope Keith and Peter Bowles will star in a limited engagement of Richard Brinsley Sheridan's The Rivals at the West End's Theatre Royal Haymarket. The production will begin performances November 10 with opening night set for November 23. The show, directed by Peter Hall, will run through February 26. 

Keith's theater credits include Blithe Spirit, The Many Wives of Windsor and The Importance of Being Earnest. She is known for her many TV roles, including The Good Life and as the narrator on the Teletubbies. Bowles theater credits include Major Barbara, The Misanthrope, The Browning Project and The Waltz of the Toreadors. Keith and Bowles previously co-starred on the popular TV series To the Manor Born.

The Rivals takes place in 1775 Bath where a group of rich society members descend to gossip and pursue romance. Throughout the course of a single day these suitors and schemers and their servants indulge in an assortment of hilariously extravagant intrigues before everyone is paired off to their own satisfaction.

The production played earlier this year at the Theatre Royal Bath. The Rivals marked the first production of the Theatre Royal Haymarket when it opened on July 4, 1821.