Sarah Ruhl's In the Next Room (or the Vibrator Play) Slated For West End Transfer

London buzz, indeed! The Theatre Royal Bath production of In the Next Room (or the Vibrator Play) will transfer to the West End’s St. James Theatre beginning November 13. The production will star Edward Bennett and Flora Montgomery, reprising their roles as Leo Irving and Sabrina Daldry, respectively. Tony nominee Sarah Woodward will join the cast as Annie. Additional casting will be announced shortly. Helmed by Theatre Royal Bath artistic director Laurence Boswell, Sarah Ruhl’s drama will open officially on November 21.

Bennett, a regular performer at the Royal Shakespeare Company, starred in One Man, Two Guvnors in the West End. His additional U.K. credits include Lovesong, Three Farces, Plenty, Hay Fever, Othello, Little Nell and Hamlet. Montgomery appeared in The Reckoning and Dinner in the West End. Her film and TV credits include Goldfish Memory, when Brendan Met Trudy and Basic Instinct 2. Woodward garnered a Tony nomination for her performance in The Real Thing and won an Olivier Award for Tom & Clem. Her film and TV appearances include Close Your Eyes, I Capture the Castle and the 2011 Globe Theatre broadcast of The Merry Wives of Windsor.

While enthusiasm grows amongst the well-to-do for the new electric lightbulb, In the Next Room tells the story of Dr. Givings, who has been working on his own strange electrical device. His aim is to treat female hysteria, but his first patient emerges from her first session glowing and keen to return. Based on true historical events, In the Next Room is a provocative and touching story about sex and intimacy. In the Next Room originally opened on Broadway in 2009, and was nominated for three Tony Awards, including Best Play. The Theatre Royal Bath production played May 10 through June 9, 2012, at the Ustinov Studio.