First look at Tracy-Ann Oberman in rehearsals for Present Laughter
by Best of Theatre Staff on in Cast Changes and Announcements
Rehearsal pictures are out for Present Laughter, in which Tracy-Ann Oberman plays a role written for a man – the first female Essendine – opposite James Dreyfus and Adrian Lukis. It opens at Theatre Royal Bath on 27 August before a national tour.
The first rehearsal images have arrived for Present Laughter, and they come with a twist on Noël Coward’s comedy of theatrical vanity: the part Coward wrote for himself is being played by a woman. Tracy-Ann Oberman takes the lead as Geri Essendine, the first time the role has gone to a female actor after decades of Garry Essendine. The production, from Theatre Royal Bath Productions and Augusta Productions, plays Theatre Royal Bath from 27 August to 5 September 2026 ahead of a national tour.
Oberman has also written this new version. Known on screen for EastEnders and Friday Night Dinner, and on stage for work with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre, she is making a habit of turning great male parts over: this follows her Shylock in The Merchant of Venice 1936.
James Dreyfus plays Monty. Familiar from Gimme Gimme Gimme, The Thin Blue Line and more recently Mount Pleasant, he won the 1998 Olivier Award for Best Supporting Performance in a Musical for Lady in the Dark at the National Theatre, and has appeared in The Producers and Cabaret.
Adrian Lukis takes the role of Len. His screen work runs from Pride and Prejudice and Judge John Deed to The Crown and Black Mirror; on stage he has been seen in The Price in the West End, Orson’s Shadow at Southwark Playhouse, The Holy Rosenbergs at the Menier Chocolate Factory, and Being Mr Wickham, which he co-wrote and has played in London, New York and on tour.
The company also features Richenda Carey as Lady Saltburn, Seb Carrington as David Stillington, Eva Feiler as Rosina Maule, Gabriella Foley as Miss Erikson, Charlotte Randle as Henrietta, Jonathan Tafler as Morris, Perry Williams as Fred and Kit Young as Johannes.
Geri is a star who has been 39 for years, adored by fans and surrounded by hangers-on. With a tour of Africa about to take her away, she finds herself hemmed in by would-be lovers, an exasperated secretary, an estranged husband and an obsessive young playwright – and whether she truly wants to escape any of it is the joke Coward keeps turning.
Lindsay Posner directs, after West End runs of Noises Off, A View From the Bridge and The Deep Blue Sea. He is joined by set and costume designer Peter McKintosh, lighting designer Richard Howell, composer and sound designer Adam Cork and casting director Ginny Schiller CDG.
After Bath the tour visits Cambridge Arts Theatre (8–12 September), Malvern Theatres (15–19 September), Richmond Theatre (22–26 September), Cheltenham Everyman (29 September–3 October), the Grand Opera House in York (6–10 October), Lighthouse Poole (13–17 October), Liverpool Playhouse (20–24 October) and Chichester Festival Theatre (23–28 November), where tickets go on sale soon. Press night in Bath is 2 September.