Hollywood star and two-time Tony Award winner Jonathan Pryce makes an unexpected visit to Bath next week.

When he originally agreed to star in a revival of Harold Pinter's The Caretaker at the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool there was no question of it going on tour.

"But then the Theatre Royal Bath asked if we would take it down so we said 'yes'," says Jonathan who became a household name when he starred in Evita and Pirates of the Caribbean. The result is that if you didn't see the play in Liverpool then Bath is the only alternative.

Jonathan told the Guide he was particularly interested in the contrast of doing the play on a three sided stage in Liverpool and then in the ultra traditional setting of Bath's Theatre Royal where he says he has never played before.

The Caretaker is one of his favourite plays. Back in the 80s he played the part of one of the two young brothers in a production which starred Warren Mitchell.

Some 30 years on he is now playing the part of Davies the older man.

The Caretaker is the story of two brothers and a tramp, and is the most famous and the funniest of Pinter's works and his first major success as a dramatist.

Davies is down and out when Aston takes him in for the night. Lost in a shoeless world, chasing papers in Sidcup, Davies soon fancies his chances at something more permanent. Then Aston's fiery brother Mick shows up. As the odd couple becomes an odd number, who will be the odd man out?

Power games and simmering tension combine with wonderful comedy and Pinter's eloquent dialogue to make The Caretaker a totally mesmerising experience.

Originally produced in 1960, The Caretaker marked Harold Pinter's arrival as the seminal playwright of his generation. He subsequently went on to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature. In October, this new production marked Jonathan's homecoming to the Everyman where he began his career. Jonathan won Tony Awards for Miss Saigon and Comedians and an Olivier award for Hamlet, his many previous theatre credits include Glengarry Glen Ross, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Oliver!, and My Fair Lady.

Now following the huge success of Cranford on TV a second story is being shown in two episodes over Christmas.

Jonathan joins the cast for the new story in which he plays a gruff landowner who rebels against the introduction of the railway.

Dame Judi Dench is again starring in the production. "I hadn't worked with her before but I had sung a duet with her," says Jonathan.

Apparently the two met up for a children's charity occasion which is being repeated this year on November 22 at the Bloomsbury Theatre in London. "I still haven't decided what to sing," he confessed.

The Caretaker opens on Monday and runs until Saturday. Tickets are available from the box office on 01225 448844 or online at www.theatreroyal. org.uk.

WIN TICKETS

If you would like to win two tickets to see The Caretaker on Monday just answer the following question, put your answer on a postcard with your name, address and daytime telephone number and send it to Theatre Royal Competition, The Guide, The Bath Chronicle, Westpoint James Street West, Bath BA 1 2DA. The first correct answer out of the hat first thing on Monday morning will get the tickets. The question is: Who wrote The Caretaker?