Impresario and Theatre Royal owner Bill Kenwright is reviving the classic comedy Rough Crossing at Windsor.

Its star Charlie Stemp comes fresh from storming Broadway opposite Bette Midler in Hello Dolly!

He also triumphed in the recent revival of Half a Sixpence and this season’s London Palladium panto Snow White - and is fitting Rough Crossing in before he goes on to play Bert in Mary Poppins later this year in the West End.

The plot of Rough Crossing concerns two famous but desperate playwrights stuck on an ocean liner headed for New York, feverishly trying to rehearse their latest show before reaching land and opening night. 

But they are constantly distracted by their delicate composer’s attempts to end it all, an absurdly unorthodox waiter and a mistimed lifeboat drill.

Olivier-award nominee Charlie said: “This is the first time I’ve done a play so this is new ground and I love it.

“I always knew I had a gap between panto and starting in Mary Poppins.

“My agent and I decided it would be good to try something new and that the next move needed to be different...so here we are.

“I’m looking forward to the comedy, plus there’s something about good writing and comic timing. It’s Tom Stoppard. It’s so smart, but you don’t have to be smart to understand it. That’s why he’s one of the best writers alive.

“The thing now is to try to do the play justice if I can.

“I live in Feltham so it’s only a few stops down the railway line into Windsor, no digs for me.”

Rough Crossing runs at the Theatre Royal from Wednesday, January 30 to Saturday, February 9. Box office 01753 853888 or theatreroyalwindsor.co.uk