Maxine Peake will lead the cast of Zinnie Harris’ How To Hold Your Breath when the play opens at the Royal Court in February.
The production, which is directed by the venue’s Artistic Director Vicky Featherstone, will play in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs from 4 February to 21 March.
Peake, whose last stage outing saw her play the title role in a radical staging of Shakespeare’s Hamlet at the Manchester Royal Exchange, returns to the London stage for the first since her performance in 2011’s Loyalty at the Hampstead Theatre.
While the actress’ other stage credits include The Cherry Orchard at the National Theatre, Leaves Of Glass at the Soho Theatre and Miss Julie at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, many will still know her best for her screen appearances, most notably in Silk, The Village, Shameless and Dinnerladies.
Billed as a darkly witty and magical play, How To Hold Your Breath delves into recent European history, starting with a seemingly innocent one night stand, to provide an epic look at the true cost of our principles and how we live how.
Today’s casting news was accompanied by the announcement that the critic-dividing 2071, which ran at the Royal Court last month, will return to the venue for three performances.
Katie Mitchell, Duncan Macmillan and Professor Chris Rapley’s exploration of climate change will move to the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs for performances on 23 and 24 January.
Full casting for How To Hold Your Breath is still to be announced.