Hare Makes Acting Debut at Royal Court

Playwright David Hare will make his acting debut this September at the Royal Court Downstairs (Duke of York's) in a one-man play written by himself about himself. The new work, Via Dolorosa, will run from Tuesday 8 September 1998 (previews from 3 September) until 3 October.

In 1997, after many invitations, the 50-year-old playwright decided to pay a three week visit to the state of Israel, then celebrating its own 50th birthday. Deeply touched by the experience, he began a memoir which became Via Dolorosa. The play offers a meditation on the time spent in both Israel and Palestine, which leaves the author questioning his own values as searchingly as the powerful beliefs of those he met.

Hare's many plays include Amy's View, which starred Dame Judi Dench in the acclaimed National Theatre production; The Judas Kiss, which starred Liam Neeson in an Almeida production at the West End's Playhouse Theatre; Plenty and The Absence of War. Hare has never acted professionally.

Stephen Daldry, who accompanied Hare on his trip to Israel, returns to the stage to direct Via Dolorosa. The former Royal Court artistic director left the theatre last year to pursue a career in film. His last play at the Royal Court was Caryl Churchill's This Is a Chair in 1997. Other Daldry productions have included Search and Destroy, The Kitchen and The Editing Process.

Design is by Ian MacNeil, lighting by Rick Fisher and sound by Paul Arditti.

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