Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day to be adapted for the stage at Royal and Derngate

Barney Norris (Visitors, Nightfall) will adapt Nobel Prize-winner Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day for the stage, in a new production directed by Christopher Haydon with design by Lily Arnold.

Set during and after the Second World War, the piece follows a butler who, facing up to the regrets of his life, tries to find redemption by locating a friend from the past. The 1989 novel was adapted into a film in 1993, starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson.

Co-produced by Royal and Derngate and Out of Joint in association with Oxford Playhouse, the piece will embark on a UK tour after premiering in Northampton from 23 February to 16 March 2019.

Norris said: "This is a deeply emotional project for me, a chance to work with three companies I care for very much. There have been Norrises living in Northamptonshire as far back as records go, so to work in Northampton and get to share a play with my family there is glorious. To do that while also working with Oxford Playhouse, where I had my first job in the theatre and am still an associate now, and Out of Joint, the company that made me want to work in this trade and where I worked in the office for a couple of years, is a very precious opportunity."

The project is part of Royal and Derngate's Made in Northampton initiative, which has seen new work commissioned including, recently, Love from a Stranger, A Passage to India and The Selfish Giant, all of which have run or are currently running across the country.

The Remains of the Day will run from 23 February to 16 March at Royal and Derngate ahead of a UK tour.