The official Daphne du Maurier website, approved by her Estate
My Cousin Rachel tour, starring Helen George, moves to Inverness
Joseph O’Connor’s beautiful adaptation of My Cousin Rachel, directed by Anthony Banks and starring Helen George as Rachel, moves to Eden Court, Inverness from Tuesday 26th – Saturday 30th November 2019.
The Daphne du Maurier website left their dear able assistant Suzanne in charge of Bookends of Fowey and went on an adventure to Bath to see Helen George and the cast of My Cousin Rachel perform at the Theatre Royal, Bath last week.
The theatre itself was beautiful, built in 1805, it is considered to be one of the most important examples of Georgian theatre architecture. A major fire in 1862 destroyed much of the interior which was rebuilt immediately with the work including the construction of the entrance as we see it today. High in the painted ceiling of the interior is a beautiful chandelier, reminiscent of the Paris Opera House. Early stars to perform there included Sarah Bernhardt, Anna Pavlova and Mrs Patrick Campbell and, of course, visitors to the theatre included Jane Austen and her family. |
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So, with all that history, and the anticipation of seeing a work by Daphne du Maurier, expectations were high, and we were not disappointed. Joseph O’Connor created a play which contained all the elements of Daphne du Maurier’s novel, the exotic and misunderstood Rachel, who may be an opportunist, a thief, even a murderer, or may just a woman struggling on her own after the death of her husband and justifiably uncertain of her welcome into his family home. Helen George portrayed each aspect of Rachels character beautifully, and the other cast members were also superb. The scenery and the rotating stage moved us from one scene to the next seamlessly as the story built to its inevitable conclusion.
If you can get to any of the locations on this tour of My Cousin Rachel, please do, you won’t regret it. We had a marvellous time and thoroughly enjoyed our adventure to Bath.