Sir Antony Sher returns to the National Theatre in The Captain Of Köpenick, a savagely funny tale of a petty criminal mistaken for a man of power.

Released after fifteen years in prison, trapped in a bureaucratic maze, petty criminal Wilhelm Voight wanders 1910 Berlin in desperate, hazardous pursuit of identity papers. Luck changes when he picks up an abandoned military uniform in a fancy-dress shop and finds the city ready to obey his every command. At the head of six soldiers, he marches to the Mayor’s office, cites corruption and confiscates the treasury with ease. But still what he craves is official recognition that he exists.

Sher, who leads the cast, boasts National Theatre credits including Travelling Light, Primo, Stanley and Uncle Vanya, and has performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company in productions of The Tempest, Othello, Macbeth and The Merchant Of Venice.

Adrian Noble makes his debut at the NT directing The Captain Of Köpenick. The former Artistic Director of the RSC has led productions including The King’s Speech, The Tempest and Hedda Gabler.