From Thursday 20 February to Saturday 26 April 2025, Theatre Royal Haymarket will play host to legendary stage and screen actor Brian Cox (HBO’s multi-award-winning Succession) who will star as Johann Sebastian Bach alongside Nicole Ansari-Cox as Bach’s wife Anna in Oliver Cotton’s new play THE SCORE, directed by Trevor Nunn, which was originally presented at Theatre Royal Bath in Autumn 2023.
Spring 1747, Potsdam, Prussia. Johann Sebastian Bach reluctantly visits the court of Frederick II, Europe’s most ambitious and dangerous leader. The two men could hardly be more different. As the Age of Enlightenment dawns, they stand in opposite camps. Bach is deeply religious, Frederick is an atheist. Bach loathes war, Frederick revels in it. Bach studies scripture, Frederick reads military history. Frederick remains in awe of Bach’s genius however and has mischievously prepared a musical conundrum that he hopes will baffle the composer and amuse his court. The explosive events of the following days could not have been predicted by either man.
Brian Cox’s glittering career has spanned more than sixty years, garnering numerous awards, working with the most esteemed theatre companies and renowned Hollywood and TV directors. Twice Olivier Award winner for Best Actor, his portrayal of Logan Roy in the HBO hit series Succession has won him a Golden Globe award and Emmy nominations.
Nicole Ansari-Cox studied at the prestigious Actors’ Studio in New York and has starred regularly on stage and screen in the UK and the US. Her major credits include Deadwood, The Biographerand Blumenthal on screen, and starring in Tom Stoppard’s Rock’n’Roll at the Royal Court and on Broadway.
Former artistic director of the National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company, Trevor Nunn’s multi-award winning repertoire ranges from Les Misérables to The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby.
Robert Jones is the Set and Costume Designer, Johanna Town is the Lighting Designer, Sound Designer and Additional Composition is Sophie Cotton, Cordelia Monsey is the Associate Director and the Casting Director is Ginny Schiller CDG.
