More woe for Billie as West End debut is delayed

11 April 2012
The Weekender

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Billie Piper's West End debut was abruptly postponed today amid speculation that the play is not yet ready.

Piper is currently in preview performances of Christopher Hampton's 1975 love triangle Treats at the Garrick Theatre alongside real-life boyfriend Laurence Fox.

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Glum couple: Billie Piper and her man Laurence Fox find it hard to crack a smile

Theatreland is rife with talk that Piper, star of TV's Dr Who, is finding the stage role challenging. She was pictured breaking down in front of ex-husband Chris Evans at a branch of Starbucks in Belsize Park yesterday.

On Sunday Piper gave an interview, saying how "stressed out" she was by her looming debut. "It's really hard in the theatre and the level of concentration is terrible. I am still working it out and trying to find my feet... I am quite stressed and am having a tough time."

Treats was to have officially opened next Wednesday. The producers say the delay has been made in order not to clash with the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of The Tempest, starring Patrick Stewart, which is also due to open, at the Novello Theatre, next Wednesday.

A spokesman for producer Bill Kenwright said: "The reason for the move is that it clashes with the RSC. It is something that has been discussed for a while."

Kenwright's team denied that Piper's tears had anything to do with the play: "The two things really are not connected."

A theatre source said: "Laurence Fox trained at RADA but both himself and Billie do not possess vast West End experience and it has taken more time than originally envisaged to get the production in good working order.

It is unprecedented for such a high-profile West End production to move at the eleventh hour. Director Laurence Boswell feels the play still needs a few changes before it opens."

Writer Christopher Hampton is also understood to have privately voiced reservations about the current state of the production which was originally staged at the Royal Court, starring Jane Asher.

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