Mary Reid

We're in for a real treat this season at the Rose Theatre, with three productions by Peter Hall.

The Bath Festival production of a stage adaptation of Henry James' 'The Portrait of a Lady' opens tomorrow, directed by Peter Hall and with a script by his wife, Nicki Frei.

This is paired with Ibsen's 'A Doll's House' which opens on 9th September. The two plays should offer a fascinating study of how two women deal with the cultural expectations of their marriages.

I'm going to see both, but the one I'm looking forward to most is a rare production of 'Love's Labour's Lost'. This will be the first homegrown professional production in the Rose, developed specifically for the space.

Peter Hall is bound to bring fresh insights to this oddity of a play; after all, he is renowned as the director who can breathe life into the most difficult of texts. I've already planned to go to see it twice.

In between, the resident Artistic Director of the Rose, Stephen Unwin, will delight us with a modern piece by Peter Nichols, 'Born inthe Gardens'.

You can book online, but it's cheaper to pop into the box office as you go past. Whilst you're calling in, have a look at the Culture Café on the ground floor - it offers art exhibitions and free performances while you munch through your paninis.

(Yes - I did nick the photo from the website)