Penelope Wilton leads Taken at Midnight to West End

Taken at Midnight, a new play centring on the true story of a German lawyer who dared to put Hitler on the witness stand in the 1930s, will transfer to the West End next year following its premiere run in Chichester.

Directed by Jonathan Church, the play is written by Mark Hayhurst and features Penelope Wilton as the lawyer's mother.

Wilton was last seen in the West End playing Gertrude opposite Jude Law's Hamlet in 2009. Other recent credits include A Delicate Balance (Almeida Theatre) and screen roles in Downton Abbey and The Best.

Taken at Midnight will run at the Theatre Royal Haymarket from 15 January to 14 March 2015, following the National Theatre's production of Great Britain into the venue.

According to press material, in Taken at Midnight Hayhurst "casts light on a universal theme as the mother of brilliant German Jewish lawyer Hans Litten fights for his release against the seemingly impossible might of the Nazi regime."

Commissioned by commercial producer Mark Goucher, it premiered in Chichester Minerva Theatre earlier this month to favourable reviews.

Further casting for the transfer is still to be announced.