Christine Baranski and Richard E. Grant unite for Hay Fever

Christine Baranski and Richard E. Grant are making their first joint stage appearance in Noël Coward's Hay Fever, despite decades of overlapping careers in theatre and film. The two veteran actors had never worked together prior to this production. Richard E. Grant will appear opposite Christine Baranski in the 1924 comedy of manners.

Baranski’s West End debut in a Coward classic

Christine Baranski will make her West End debut as Judith Bliss in Hay Fever. The production is set in the time it was written and will use original costumes. Baranski plays Judith Bliss, a self-obsessed actress, with Richard E. Grant playing her writer husband, David Bliss.

Bliss family dynamics on stage

The play centres on the Bliss family. Alongside parents Judith and David are their children, Simon and Sorel.

A legacy of Coward performances

Christine Baranski brings deep experience to the role, having appeared in four Coward plays, including Hay Fever. The role of Judith Bliss has a storied history, having been played by legendary actresses from Edith Evans and Celia Johnson to Judi Dench, Penelope Keith, and Lindsay Duncan.

Careers defined by stage and screen

Both actors have extensive backgrounds across theatre, film, and television. Christine Baranski trained at Juilliard and worked in theatre for a long time, performing Shakespeare, Molière, and Chekhov. Her career turned to television in her 40s to support her children and pay tuition. She is best known for The Good Wife and Mamma Mia! and won an Emmy in 1995 for playing Cybill Shepherd's divorced best friend in the sitcom Cybill.

Richard E. Grant shot to fame in Withnail and I and has specialised in supporting roles, including in Can You Ever Forgive Me? He last appeared on stage in London about twenty years ago.

Reflecting on their long-delayed collaboration, Richard E. Grant noted, "Despite our vast combined vintage, our paths have never crossed before, have they?" Christine Baranski replied, "Regrettably not. We could have had some good fun a few decades ago. A girl could have got into some real trouble." Christine Baranski will make her West End debut in Hay Fever opposite Richard E. Grant.