A Royal Shakespeare Company actor who was preparing to perform Patrick Süskind's one-man play The Double Bass in London had his vital prop stolen two days before opening night. The £500 bass was taken as actor Christopher Hunter unpacked his van outside Hampstead's New End Theatre, where his solo performance runs for three weeks until 24 April. After searching for a replacement, Hunter found a £3,500 bass that he was able to borrow for just £10.

Süskind, the German writer of bestselling novel Perfume, wrote The Double Bass in 1981. It is a tragicomic story about an orchestral musician in crisis as he prepares to play in a performance of Wagner's Das Rheingold.

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