IMITATING THE DOG to Play Birmingham Rep, 19-22 Nov

Imitating the Dog, one of the UK's most original and innovative performance theatre companies are set to bring their unique theatrical vision to Birmingham Repertory Theatre from 19 - 22 November when they stage the first UK stage adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's seminal First World War novel A Farewell to Arms.

Based on the author's real-life experience in 1918 in Italy, A Farewell to Arms tells the story of Frederic Henry, an American ambulance driver for the Italian army and his relationship with English nurse Catherine Barkley.

Against the backdrop of the war the two protagonists discover the redemptive power of love and experience the loss of innocence as they attempt to cement their relationship in a time of devastating conflict.

In this first UK stage adaptation of one of the classic novels of the twentieth century, imitating the dog will fuse video projection, beautiful stage design and original music to create an extraordinary adaptation of Hemingway's powerful tale of love and the brutality of modern warfare.

Director Andrew Quick said about staging A Farwell to Arms: "Imitating the dog are very excited to have obtained the rights for Hemingway's wonderful novel, A Farewell to Arms, and to be producing the first stage adaptation of the much loved classic in the UK. The company fell in love with the novel many years ago and knew that the creative possibilities of creating something very special with our unique theatrical style could be endless.

"Primarily a love story between American ambulance driver Frederic Henry and English nurse Catherine Barkley, the novel explores the complexity and tragedy of young love during a period of catastrophic conflict. Hemingway's storytelling is so evocative of the way love consumes and elevates us and his taut writing style lends itself to our visual approach to theatre making. Its clipped dialogue, uncluttered prose and its focus on the power of love as a redemptive force in a time of war have established the novel's reputation as a modern classic."

Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms was published in 1929 and a year later was adapted on Broadway by Laurence Stallings. It was then subsequently made into a Oscar nominated film by Paramount Pictures in 1932 featuring Gary Cooper and then remade in 1957 with Rock Hudson and Jennifer Jones in its cast.

In the lead roles will be Jude Monk McGowan (The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable, National Theatre/Punchdrunk and the recent screen adaptation of Anna Karenina) as Frederic Henry and Laura Atherton (The Zero Hour, imitating the dog) as Catherine Barkley. Other roles will be played by Morven Macbeth, Matt Pendergast, Marco Rossi and Joshua Jackson.

Since 1998, imitating the dog has devised performances that experiment with the role of story-telling and narrative in a contemporary theatrical context that are performed both in the UK and Internationally. Through the innovative combination of digital media, design and physical performance, the company creates off-kilter worlds within which public and private obsessions are explored. The company's recent acclaimed productions have included The Zero Hour, Six Degrees below the Horizon and Hotel Methuselah, as well as the recent co-production with the Dukes, Lancaster - The Life and Times of Mitchell & Kenyon.

Adapted by imitating the dog and directed by Pete Brooks and Andrew Quick, A Farewell to Arms is co-produced with The Dukes, Lancaster and supported with complementary regional producing organisations, Live at LICA and Cast, Doncaster.

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