Christine Baranski and Richard E. Grant to star in West End Revival of Hay Fever

Christine Baranski and Richard E. Grant will star in a revival of Noël Coward’s Hay Fever in the West End.

The production, directed by Emily Burns (Measure for Measure), marks Baranski’s West End debut and Grant’s return to the West End stage after 20 years. Baranski will play Judith Bliss, with Grant cast as David Bliss in Noël Coward’s comedy.

The play follows Judith Bliss, a retired actress who invites a young admirer to her country home, only for her husband David and their children Sorrel and Simon to each invite guests of their own for the same weekend – resulting in pandemonium. Further casting and creative team members are to be announced.

Baranski said: “I attended my first West End play as a student at Juilliard in 1971, so it’s rather a dream come true to perform at Wyndham’s Theatre in a Noël Coward play in the West End. I look forward to a life in London, a city I absolutely adore. I last performed on stage 20 years ago, and coincidentally, Richard E. Grant last performed in the West End 20 years ago! Richard is so gifted, whip smart, and wickedly funny. I look forward to ‘tearing a passion to tatters’ with him alongside our brilliant director, Emily Burns. Hay Fever is a 101-year-old comedy of appalling manners. It requires quicksilver delivery and suave flamboyance. I hope it will be a delicious treat for audiences to spend time with this Blissful Bohemian family!”

Grant said: “Twenty-five years ago, I guest starred for a night in The Play What I Wrote at the beautiful Wyndham’s Theatre. I am delighted to return to the Wyndham’s stage (and maybe to a bigger dressing room) alongside the sensational Christine Baranski in Noël Coward’s delicious comedy, Hay Fever, which premiered in the West End 101 years ago (but who’s counting?). I love the theatre and am thrilled to return to it, and to be directed by the illustrious Emily Burns.”

The show will run at Wyndham’s Theatre from September 22-December 12.