A Small Hotel in Bath by Rebecca Lenkievicz
- GutBer English
- Oct 7
- 3 min read
Following the world premiere of David Hare's Grace Pervades, where he played Henry Irving, and Shakespeare's As You Like It, which he directed, Fiennes brings his season as artistic director of the Theatre Royal Bath to a close with another world premiere: Rebecca Lenkiewicz's latest play, Small Hotel. His season also included musical performances by Patti Smith and Kae Tempest and also participated in a Q&A session at the Bath Film Festival following the screening at Komedia of The Invisible Woman, which he also directed and in which he plays the writer Charles Dickens.
In Small Hotel, Fiennes plays a once-famous television presenter whose career is on the decline. He reconnects with a now-famous Hollywood actress who was his girlfriend (Rosalind Eleazar) when she was starting out. Influenced by his mother (Francesca Annis) and twin brother (also Fiennes, but on a screen), Larry tries to get his life back on track at a crucial moment.
With a basic company of just four actors, all of them big names, the set design becomes one more character in the play. Eva (Rachel Tucker), the Liverpool waitress who serves as a conductor to the present, also introduces the music and tap dancing to the rhythm of Larry's heartbeat, thus marking the pace, the timing, and the climaxes.
Although the set looks minimalistic, the rotating stage moves in sync with the musical beats to transport us from one moment to another, between the present and the recent past. The light curtains and lighting effects help create an almost dreamlike atmosphere, between Larry's memories and his subconscious, during the hour and a half long performance with no interval. We did have a sort of interval on opening night, though. The rotating stage got stuck in the middle of a scene forcing a fifteen-minute break; things that happen in previews. But it all was dealt with with high professionalism: the actors left the stage as if part of the action, we were informed of the situation, and they resumed where they left it as if nothing had happened. This did break the tension somehow, but only for an instant. In no time we were all back inside Larry’s mind.
Also typical from opening nights and previews, the performances were uneven. Fiennes plays both twin brothers, and while his television presenter seems somewhat unconvincing in his TV show scenes, he truly shines in the scenes with his mother, whereas Larry's brother is an absolute triumph of characterization and versatility. Francesca Annis, on the other hand, shines brightly and dazzles with her stage presence. The 80-year-old veteran actress, internationally renowned for her role in the original Dune film, delivers a masterclass in range and stagecraft. The way she delivers her lines and commands the spaces is simply magical. Mother and twin leave a wonderful impression in the audience, who become part of the action acting as the studio audience during Larry's scenes as the presenter. There are also plenty of puns and humorous hints that do work well.
Small Hotel raises questions about our decisions in life, our lack of communication and resulting misunderstandings, and the regret of having done or not done what we really should have at a given moment, as well as the impact different people have on our lives.
Following this world premiere, we attended the after-party at the magnificent 1805 Rooms in the Theatre Royal Bath, where we once again greeted Nick, the theatre's PR manager, as charming as ever. Ralph Fiennes (The English Patient), Francesca Annis (Dune), Rachel Tucker, and Rosalind Eleazar (Slow Horses) were also present, chatting amiably with the guests. We strolled among the stars again before venturing outside into a cold and rainy night, shaken by the extreme winds of storm Amy, but we found shelter in the always charming Garrick’s Head pub, just outside the theatre. The evening concluded with a selection of English cheeses and Chilean wine, courtesy of our hotel, located directly across from the theatre. Definitely an evening to remember!
We saw Small Hotel at the Theatre Royal Bath for its world premiere on Friday, October 3. Its run in Bath ended on November 18, but like Grace Pervades, we expect it to be programmed in London’s West End theatres by the end of 2026.
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