Helen Baxendale to star in new play at the Orange Tree

Helen Baxendale will return to the London stage next month to star in Deborah Bruce's new play The Distance at the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond.

Baxendale, who is joined in the cast by Emma Beattie and Clare Lawrence-Moody, has been away from the stage for five years. Previous theatre roles include After Miss Julie (Donmar Warehouse); The Woman Before (Royal Court) and Swimming with Sharks (Vaudeville).

Her extensive work on television includes Rachel in Cold Feet, Emily in Friends and Claire in Cardiac Arrest. She's currently starring in BBC comedy Cuckoo with Greg Davies.

The Distance, billed as "a sharply funny play about motherhood," is the second play in Paul Miller's inaugural season as artistic director of the Orange Tree. His first production, a revival of DH Lawrence's The Widowing of Mrs Holroyd, opens tonight.

The venue was recently hit by news of a complete cut of Arts Council funding, after losing its status as a National Portfolio Organisation (NPO). Miller said at the time: "We will set about the hard work of hitting ambitious new targets for private fundraising."

Writer Deborah Bruce's debut play Godchild premiered at Hampstead Theatre in 2013. Her career as a director has included work at the Royal Court, Shakespeare's Globe and the Arcola.

The production is directed by Charlotte Gwinner and designed by Signe Beckmann. The cast also includes Daniel Hawksford, Timothy Knightley, Bill Milner and Oliver Ryan.