Birmingham REP to host Bennett comedy double bill

Published: 13 February 2016
Reporter: Steve Orme

Nicholas Farrell, Belinda Lang and David Robb in Single Spies

Nicholas Farrell, Belinda Lang and David Robb feature in a new production of Alan Bennett’s comedy Single Spies at Birmingham REP.

The REP and Chichester Festival Theatre, which collaborated on David Seidler’s The King's Speech in 2015, are again joining together to present Bennett’s espionage double bill.

It is a satirical snapshot of two members of the infamous “Cambridge Five”, Guy Burgess and Anthony Blunt, both recruited as spies by the Soviet Union during World War II.

An Englishman Abroad is a “wry and touching play” which chronicles the pair’s fleeting friendship and Burgess’s attempts to cling to his way of life as a Soviet citizen.

A Question of Attribution gives a glimpse into Anthony Blunt’s life of espionage within the walls of Buckingham Palace as he pursued a double life as an art historian to royalty and a Soviet spy.

Farrell plays Burgess, Robb takes the role of Blunt and Lang plays actress Coral Browne and The Queen. Former Birmingham REP artistic director Rachel Kavanaugh directs.

Single Spies runs at the REP from Wednesday 17 until Saturday 27 February. Press night is Thursday 18 February.

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