THE ABSENCE OF WAR Opens at the Crucible Next Month

With less than 100 days to go until the country votes in the next General Election, David Hare's stinging political drama The Absence of War, opens on the Crucible stage on Friday 6 February, running until Saturday 21 February.

Sheffield-born George Jones, the charismatic leader of the Labour Party is at a crucial point in his career. Desperate to get out of opposition and into Number Ten, he has three weeks to convince the Great British Public that he's their man. Plagued by a hostile media, beset by divisions in his party and haunted by his own demons, it seems the road to power is a rocky one. How much compromise is he prepared to make? How can he appeal to the man in the street from the House of Commons? And which tie should he wear for Prime Minister's Questions?

Occupying territory between The West Wing and The Thick of It, this searing election play is a sharp, entertaining and witty study of the epic personal struggle of one man and his party's campaign to lead the country. Debuted at the National Theatre in 1993, the play was inspired by David Hare's first hand observations of the 1992 General Elections during which he had behind-the-scenes access.

The cast includes Reece Dinsdale as George Jones, familiar from his stage roles in Untold Stories (West Yorkshire Playhouse), This House and Racing Demon (National Theatre) and his many television appearances including Coronation Street, Silent Witness and Life On Mars, alongside Cyril Nri (currently starring in Russell T Davies' new Channel 4 series Cucumber) as Oliver Dix and Maggie McCarthy, who performed in the Crucible's inaugural performance Fanfare, as Gwenda Aaron.

Headlong Artistic Director Jeremy Herrin (The Nether, Wolf Hall/Bring Up The Bodies - Evening Standard Award for Best Director, This House), directs this show which marks the return of playwright Hare's work to the Crucible following the dedicated writer's season in 2011 (featuring Racing Demon, Plenty).

In the run up to this year's General Election, The Absence of War will go on a timely national tour to Norwich, Watford, Bristol, Cheltenham, Liverpool, Glasgow, Oxford, Kingston, Cambridge and Bath Theatre Royal.

Tickets for The Absence of War can be purchased from Sheffield Theatres' Box Office in-person, by phone on 0114 249 6000, or online at sheffieldtheatres.co.uk, and are priced from £12.00 - £23.00 (concessions available). A transaction fee of £1.50 (£1.00 online) applies to all bookings made at the Box Office (excluding cash).

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