New play Girl With A Pearl Earring, which receives its London premiere at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, is the stage adaptation of Tracy Chevalier’s best-selling novel.

Johannes Vermeer is the greatest painter of his time. When he hires a young girl, Griet, to help in his house, it is not long before she becomes more than a servant. She starts to help him in his studio, learning the art of painting by watching the master. And then, secretly, Vermeer begins to paint her and Griet becomes model and muse for his greatest masterpiece, Girl With A Pearl Earring.

Adrian Dunbar, who plays Vermeer, last appeared on the West End stage in the hit comedy Boeing Boeing in 2007. The Northern Irish actor, who co-wrote and starred in 1991 film Hear My Song, has previous London theatre credits including King Lear, Saved, Pope’s Wedding (all Royal Court) and Ghosts (Young Vic).

The Girl With A Pearl Earring, Griet, is played by Kimberley Nixon in her professional stage debut. The young actress, who graduated from the Royal Welsh College Of Music And Drama in 2007, has already appeared on television in the acclaimed BBC costume drama Cranford.

Before its transfer to London’s Theatre Royal Haymarket, Girl With A Pearl Earring premiered at the Cambridge Arts Theatre.

For more information about Girl With A Pearl Earring at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, read our First Night Feature.