Goold Helms World Premiere of Mamet Anarchist

David Mamet‘s new play, entitled The Anarchist, will premiere in the West End this summer in a production directed by Rupert Goold.

The play, apparently centres on two women – a prison governor and an inmate on a life sentence trying to convince her that she merits parole. Dates, casting and a venue for the production have still to be announced.

This will be the third Mamet play to receive its world premiere in London. Glengarry Glen Ross was first performed at the NT Cottesloe Theatre in 1983 and The Cryptogram premiered at the Ambassadors Theatre in 1994.

Speaking to the Daily Mail‘s Baz Bamigboye, producer Matthew Byam Shaw described the play as a “fascinating sword-fight”, adding “we now want two of our leading actresses to fence with each other.”

A Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, David Mamet is best known for Speed-the-Plow and American Buffalo. A two-time Academy Award nominee for The Verdict and Wag the Dog, his other film credits include The Postman Always Rings Twice, The Untouchables and We’re No Angels.

The artistic director of Headlong Theatre and an associate at the RSC, Rupert Goold‘s recent directing credits include Earthquakes in London at the National Theatre; his Olivier Award-winning production of Enron; and Six Characters in Search of an Author at the West End’s Gielgud Theatre.

The Anarchist is produced by Matthew Byam Shaw for Playful Productions, Jeffrey Richards and Jerry Frankel. It is directed by Rupert Goold by arrangement with Headlong.