Catherine Russell to Star in Joanna Murray-Smith's SWITZERLAND at Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds

Catherine Russell (Holby City) will star as best-selling author Patricia Highsmith in Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds' in house production of Switzerland by Joanna Murray-Smith. The play, a psychological thriller, opens on the 9th of October 2026 for a two-week run with its final performance on the 24th of October. Tickets start at £12 and go on sale to Theatre Royal members from 2nd June.

Catherine Russell, is a stage, television and screen actress. She was recently seen playing the role of Professor Umbridge in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Palace Theatre) and also as Miss Havisham in Tanika Gupta's adaptation of Great Expectations at The Royal Exchange Theatre. She can now be seen in the second season of The Chelsea Detective for Acorn TV and Deborah Cahn's new series The Diplomat for Netflix. Catherine has starred in several television series, including The Inspector Lynley Mysteries and Holby City, in which she played Consultant Surgeon Serena Campbell from 2012 to 2020. Much of her stage work was with the acclaimed director Max Stafford-Clark for his theatre company Out of Joint. Alongside this, she has performed across the country in the West End, National Theatre, Royal Court, Soho Theatre, Chichester Festival Theatre, Lyric, Almeida Theatre and the Royal Exchange.

The story: In 1995, a reclusive Patricia Highsmith is living in the Swiss Alps when a charming young man arrives, supposedly to convince her to write one final Tom Ripley novel. But as his true motives begin to emerge, their encounter spirals into something far darker and more dangerous.

Switzerland is sponsored by St Edmunds Hospital, situated just around the corner from Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds who are delighted that Catherine Russell, a much-loved and recognised actor whose character in Holby City, Serena Campbell, was on our screens for ten years. Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds is collaborating with Bury St Edmunds Literature Festival to host post-show talks with authors connected to the story of Switzerland:

Sat 10 Oct, 7.30pm | After the evening performance, Andrew Wilson will be hosted by Margaret Meyer. Andrew is author of Beautiful Shadow - A Life of Patricia Highsmith.

Sat 17 Oct, 2pm | After the matinee performance, Jill Dawson will be hosted by Kate Sawyer. Jill is author of The Crime Writer.

Joanna Murray-Smith's play was first staged in 2014 at the Los Angeles Geffen Playhouse with Laura Linney (Love Actually, The Big C) playing Patricia Highsmith and is currently being produced as a film featuring Helen Mirren as Patricia Highsmith, directed by Anton Corbjin (The American, A Most Wanted Man).

Previous Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds' in-house productions include And Then Come The Nightjars, A Tryal Of Witches, Richard, My Richard and Steve And Steff Forever, amongst others. Switzerland will be 4th in Theatre Royal's series of producing the best plays of the last 15 years.

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