Tracy-Ann Oberman reimagines Noël Coward's Present Laughter as a 1970s Manhattan star
Tracy-Ann Oberman takes the lead in a reimagined production of Noël Coward's Present Laughter, running at Theatre Royal Bath's Main House from 27 August to 5 September before heading out on tour. The production, directed by Lindsay Posner, relocates Coward's comedy from its original 1930s theatrical milieu to late-1970s Manhattan — and turns its leading man into a leading woman (WhatsOnStage).
The central character, originally the male matinée idol Gary Essendine, becomes Geri Essendine: an expatriate British star who has crossed the Atlantic in pursuit of celebrity. Oberman plays the role, continuing a pattern of taking on traditionally male parts. She recently performed as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice 1936, another production that recast a canonical male role for a woman (WhatsOnStage).
Casting was announced in December 2025. James Dreyfus plays Monty, Adrian Lukis takes the role of Geri's former husband, Kit Young plays the gender-flipped Johannes, and Seb Carrington appears as the young admirer David (WhatsOnStage). Theatre Royal Bath's own listings confirm Oberman, Dreyfus and Lukis among the cast (Theatre Royal Bath).
This is not the first time Theatre Royal Bath has staged Present Laughter. The venue's production history includes a 2003 version starring Rik Mayall, directed by Dominic Dromgoole (Theatre Royal Bath). The theatre operates three spaces: the Main House, where Present Laughter is playing, the Ustinov Studio and The Egg (Theatre Royal Bath).
Production photographs are by Simon Annand, the veteran theatre photographer whose backstage portraits have documented British stage life for decades (WhatsOnStage).
WhatsOnStage published its review of the Bath run on 3 September 2026. The production then continues on tour, though full touring dates and venues are collected in WhatsOnStage's ongoing coverage of the title (WhatsOnStage).
For audiences, the draw is straightforward: a Coward comedy with its gender dynamics inverted, its setting uprooted by four decades and an ocean, and a lead performer who has built a reputation on exactly this kind of transformation. The Bath dates close on 5 September.
