Audiences have been loving Orange Tree Theatre Richmond and Theatre Royal Bath's wonderful production of The Circle this week,starring Jane Asher, Clive Francis and Nicholas Le Prevost. Playing until Saturday 10 February.

We were delighted that Jane, Clive and Nicholas joined us for a photoshoot and a chat in the Lucy Room earlier in the week.

Jane Asher first performed at Oxford Playhouse aged 12. She returns for this production as Lady Kitty, a society beauty who notoriously abandoned her stuffy husband Clive, played by Clive Francis, and eloped with the handsome Lord Porteous, played by Nicholas Le Prevost. On her return to the theatre, Asher said:

“One of my earliest stage performances was as Alice in Through the Looking Glass at the Oxford Playhouse at the age of 12, and I’ve loved the city and the Playhouse ever since. It’s wonderful to be back here in The Circle - the Somerset Maugham play that he himself chose as his favourite.“

First staged at Theatre Royal Haymarket in 1921, The Circle has remained a firm favourite with audiences ever since. A comedy of manners set against the backdrop of the English countryside, expect squabbling across generations and plenty of romance… In this production, will history come full circle? Or can one generation learn from their parents’ mistakes?

Thirty years later, love’s young dream has descended into non-stop squabbling... Meanwhile Clive and Lady Kitty’s son Arnold faces the same marital fate, as his wife Elizabeth threatens to elope with the dashing Teddie Luton.

JaneAsher is well known for appearing in Roger Corman’s 1964 film The Masque of the Red Death,Alfie opposite Michael Caine in 1966 and Jerzy Skolimowski’s Deep End in 1970. She has also appeared in The Mistress with Felicity Kendal and portrayed the series regular Lady Byrne in Holby City, after starring in Frank Oz’s film Death at a Funeral that same year.

Clive Francis is widely known for his performance in the Netflix series The Crown as Lord Salisbury. His TV and film credits include Lipstick on Your Collar, Anatomy of a Scandal, Bridgerton,The Larkins, Official Secrets, The Little Stranger and The Lost City of Z.

Nominated for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical for his performance in the West End production of My Fair Lady, Nicholas Le Prevost has appeared across TV, stage, and film for almost five decades. He starred in the acclaimed film Shakespeare in Love, as well as Testament of Youth and Here Comes Hell. TV credits include Up the Garden Path, The Larkins, The War of the Worlds, Cranford and Wild at Heart.