Judi Dench Ill With Flu; West End Mounting of Hay Fever Cancels First Four Previews

The first four previews of the West End production of Hay Fever, originally scheduled to begin tonight, April 6, have been cancelled because star Judi Dench is sick with the flu. Performances of the show are now expected to begin at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket next Tuesday, April 11, assuming her full recovery.

Dench who will also return to the RSC at the end of the year in a musical version of The Merry Wives of Windsor plays actress Judith Bliss in Hay Fever, Coward's 1925 comedy of family manners and theatrical matters. Hay Fever is directed by Peter Hall and co-stars Peter Bowles, Belinda Lang, Kim Medcalf, Charles Edwards and Dan Stevens.

The official opening of Hay Fever is April 20. Originally announced for April 19, it was previously moved to the following night to avoid a clash with the Royal Shakespeare Company's press night in Stratford-upon-Avon for Antony and Cleopatra, starring Patrick Stewart and Harriet Walter in the title roles.