Photos: First Look at MACHINAL at Theatre Royal Bath

Five-time Olivier Award winning director Richard Jones brings Sophie Treadwell’s extraordinary epic masterpiece Machinal, based on the true story of the committal and execution of Ruth Snyder, to the Ustinov Studio.  Check out all new photos below!

This provocative drama of the 1920s offers one of the greatest female roles in theatre – challenging, powerful, emotive and poignant – which has been portrayed by many renowned actresses of the British stage.   

Machinal is based on a fascinating true story uncovered by Sophie Treadwell while working as a journalist in America between the wars. Among her assignments was the sensational case involving Ruth Snyder, who with her lover Judd Gray, had murdered her husband and gone to the electric chair. 

This fascinating case has inspired countless plays, movies, books and songs as diverse as Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity, The Postman Always Rings Twice, William March’s The Bad Seeds and Guns’n’Roses Use Your Illusion albums.

The cast of Machinal includes Rosie Sheehy (Oleanna) as Young Woman, Tim Frances (Witness For The Prosecution) as Husband, and Buffy Davis (The Archers) as Mother, with Daniel Abelson, Sam Alexander, Steven Beard, Daniel Bowerbank, Imogen Daines, Carla Harrison-Hodge, Emilio Iannucci, Pierro Niel-Mee and Wendy Nottingham.

Richard Jones has directed productions on some of London’s largest stages including the Coliseum and Royal Opera House. He now brings his unique talent for epic scale to the powerful intimacy of the Ustinov Studio, in what promises to be one of this year’s most memorable theatrical events.  

The award-winning creative team of Machinal includes Director Richard Jones, Set Designer Hyemi Shin, Costume Designer Nicky Gillibrand, Lighting Designer Adam Silverman, Sound Designer Benjamin Grant, Movement Director Sarah Fahie, and Casting Director Ginny Schiller CDG.

Photo Credit: Foteini Christofilopoulou