Frank and Percy Tickets

Producer and theatre owner Bill Kenwright is running his Theatre Royal Windsor season for a third year, once again directed by Sean Mathias. Two world premieres are at the centre of the season: Frank and Percy by Ben Weatherill starring Ian McKellen and Roger Allam, as announced recently for the Theatre Royal Bath, and which plays at the Theatre Royal Windsor from  9 June to 22 July 2023; and new play Alone Together by Simon Williams from 4 August 2023 to 19 August 2023. Previous Theatre Royal Windsor seasons have included Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard in 2021, and Frederick Knott’s Dial M for Murder and Enid Bagnold’s The Chalk Garden in 2023. Director Sean Mathias said in a press statement: “I cannot believe my luck in finding not one but two charming and original new plays for the season. Ben Weatherill (Frank & Percy) is a true young talent in the theatre. And to have reunited Ian and Roger after almost 20 years since we all did Aladdin together at the Old Vic is a real coup. Both Frank and Percy, and Alone Together  explore the fragility and joy of relationships in all their different forms, and what forges and strengthens bonds between humans, at a time when more than ever, we all need to love and support one another. Producer Bill Kenwright said: “Sean has firmly established the summer season at Theatre Royal Windsor as the highlight of our dramatic theatrical year. (We should never forget our hugely loved and much needed record-breaking annual panto!). This year it is great to be exploring two new plays from an exciting new playwright (Ben Weatherill), and a dear friend of mine and of Theatre Royal Windsor (Simon Williams) whose writing skills get better with every play of his I read. I love for us to present new plays at Windsor, although to be honest it’s not always easy in a regional theatre with no subsidy whatsoever. so I’m particularly pleased that Sean and I have chosen these two as our new adventures.” Frank and Percy is a poignant and witty take on the unexpected relationship that blossoms between two men, and stars three-time Olivier Award winner Roger Allam, and multi-award winning TV, film and stage star Ian McKellen. Alone Together sees a woman in a long, unhappy marriage find comfort in a chance meeting with Jonty, a young novelist. Each have secrets to protect and pasts to work through, was it really a chance encounter? Casting for Alone Together is to be announced. More about Frank and Percy

West End producer Bill Kenwright is staging the UK premiere of Ben Weatherill’s new play Frank and Percy, starring Ian McKellen and Roger Allam. Directed by Sean Mathias, the play will run at the Theatre Royal Bath from 25 July to 5 August 2023. Ian McKellen, one of the UK's greatest stage and screen actors, is starring as Percy in the play, alongside multi Olivier Award winning actor Roger Allam as Frank. Frank and Percy is billed as a poignant and witty take on the unexpected relationship that blossoms between two men. Devoted to their dogs, they believe that human connection is far more temperamental. But as their dogs play in the park, can Frank, a widowed schoolteacher and Percy, a somewhat radical elder statesman, find the time for new infatuation, or should they just let sleeping dogs lie? Ian McKellen was recently starring in the West End in panto Mother Goose, which is now on a UK & Ireland tour, opening tomorrow in Oxford, and then playing Leicester, Dublin, Cardiff and Salford, before finishing in Bristol on 16 April 2023. Ben Weatherill is an up-and-coming writer for both stage and screen. He has projects in development with TV and film companies including STV, Objective Fiction, Imaginarium, Hillbilly, Tall Story and Red Planet Pictures, and is currently on attachment to the National Theatre. His 2018 play Jellyfish transferred from the Bush Theatre to the National in 2019 and as nominated for four Offfie awards. There is currently no news on whether Frank and Percy is part of a UK tour, or if it will transfer into the West End. More about Frank and Percy