Thea Sharrock To Direct MRS KLEIN

Thea Sharrock will direct Nicholas Wright's Mrs Klein previewing at The Almeida Theatre from 22 October 2009 with press night on 29 October 2009 and running to 5 December 2009. Designs are by Tim Hatley with lighting by Neil Austin and sound by Ian Dickinson. Casting for Mrs Klein will be announced shortly.

London, 1934. Melanie Klein is one of the most admired, yet controversial, psychoanalysts of her time, renowned for her unique insight into the secret world of childhood. But her relationship with her psychoanalyst daughter Melitta has been damaged almost beyond repair, and an unexpected message from abroad brings it to bitter confrontation. The news also poses a mystery that even Mrs Klein, despite her genius for analysis, cannot solve. It is left to her new assistant, a refugee from Hitler's Berlin, to find a possible answer.

In 1998 Peter Gill directed Mrs Klein for the National Theatre. The cast comprised Gillian Barge, who played the title role, and Francesca Annis and Zoe Wanamaker. The production subsequently transferred to the West End. In 1995 Mrs Klein opened on Broadway, directed by William Carden, with Uta Hagan in the title role. This will be the first revival of the play in London.

As well as Mrs Klein, Nicholas Wright's other plays include Cressida for the Almeida at the Albery and The Reporter and Vincent in Brixton for the National Theatre. His many adaptations include Wedekind's Lulu for the Almeida at King's Cross, Pirandello's Naked for the Almeida in the West End and Ibsen's John Gabriel Borkman, Chekhov's Three Sisters and Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author, all for the National Theatre. Wright's adaptation of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials premiered at the National Theatre in 2003. He and Richard Eyre collaborated on the book Changing Stages, a personal view of the British theatre in the twentieth century, upon which Eyre's BBC TV series was based.

Thea Sharrock previously directed Cloud Nine for The Almeida Theatre. Her production of As You Like It is currently playing at The Globe Theatre. Previously her credits include Equus at the Gielgud Theatre and on Broadway, A Voyage Round My Father which transferred from the Donmar Warehouse to Wyndham's Theatre where she also directed Heroes. For the National Theatre her credits include Emperor Jones and Happy Now?. For Bath Theatre Royal she has directed Private Lives, Don Juan, Blithe Spirit and Betrayal, as well as The Deep Blue Sea and The Fight for Barbara, both for the Peter Hall Season. Thea Sharrock was previously Artistic Director of Southwark Playhouse and The Gate Theatre.

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