Richard Jones directs this iconic piece of American drama by Nobel Prize winner Eugene O’Neill at The Old Vic.

A classic expressionist masterpiece, The Hairy Ape tells the story of Yank, a labourer who revels in his status as the strongest stoker on a transatlantic ocean liner.

But when Yank is called a “filthy beast” by the overbred daughter of a steel merchant, he experiences an awakening of consciousness that leads him on a journey through the wealthy neighbourhoods and disenfranchised underbelly of New York society. Searching for a way to belong, Yank is forced to confront primal questions about his true place in the world.

Jones is a multi-Olivier Award winner. The director, whose credits include Anna Nicole at the Royal Opera House and Into The Woods in the West End, picked up his third accolade in April 2015 for his direction of English National Opera’s The Girl Of The Golden West, The Mastersingers Of Nuremberg and Rodelinda.