“Grace Pervades” at the Theatre Royal Bath in Bath: Arts Intel Report

In Bath, England, it’s the year of Ralph Fiennes. The protean actor has brought his range to the Theatre Royal Bath, where he’s currently starring in the world premiere of David Hare’s Grace Pervades, is directing a production of Shakespeare’s As You Like It in August, and will perform with Francesca Annis in the new play, Small Hotel, in October. In Grace Pervades, Fiennes portrays the Victorian stage actor Henry Irving. Directed by Jeremy Herrin, the play explores Irving’s professional life and his complex romantic relationship with his scandalous mentee, the actress Ellen Terry, played by Miranda Raison. By the time Terry began working with Irving, she had two out-of-wedlock children with the architect Edward William Godwin—Edith Craig and Edward Gordon Craig, who shaped British theater history in their own ways. Spanning time, place, and themes, Grace Pervades is an ode to theater itself. —Jeanne Malle