CELEBRATED Shakespeare actor Antony Sher and TV star Stephanie Street are among the famous names heading to The Crucible theatre's first season after its massive refurbishment.
And former One Foot In The Grave star Richard Wilson, now an associate director of Sheffield Theatres, will direct an English regional premiere of award-winning play That Face in the new-look Studio Theatre.
Newly appointed artistic director Daniel Evans directs the showpiece theatre's opening production – a revival of Ibsen's An Enemy Of The People from February 11. It is followed in March by the world premiere of Stephanie Street's Sisters, a play examining the lives of Muslim women in modern Britain.
Roy Williams' There's Only One Wayne Matthews, a revival of Sam Shepard's True West, and Alice – a new adaptation of Lewis Carroll's classic tale by playwright Laura Wade – also feature.
The Grade II listed Crucible closed for essential refurbishment in December 2007. Phase one is finished, and the whole project is due for completion early next year.
Daniel said: "It's a hugely exciting time for the organisation. As we announce a new season of plays, we are also preparing to reopen The Crucible after a £15.3 million redevelopment.
"In choosing the plays for the opening season I've concentrated on two guiding principles – first, I wanted to offer a variety of work including classics, world premieres, adaptations and theatre for young people, and secondly I wanted to present plays that speak directly to the city of Sheffield and the region at this moment.
"Next year The Crucible will celebrate its 40th anniversary and I look forward to working to ensure the company will re-establish itself at the forefront of regional theatre in the UK."
Daniel said the Crucible had been dark for two years but now promised an "eclectic, rich, mixed diet" of theatre.
Among Daniel's other plans is outdoor theatre, writing workshops to develop local script-writing, a two-week festival called Forge and a revival of youth theatre.
He said: "It's an amazing thing to nurture emerging talent and that's got to be at the core of what I do.
"I want people to feel like the theatre is theirs, like they own it. They pay for it and there are a whole lot of ways people can participate in it."
A raft of major league actors from stage and screen are anticipated to be added to casts bound for Tudor Square.
Antony Sher makes his Crucible debut having appeared earlier this year in RSC's touring production of The Tempest, and Stephanie Street has appeared in TV's Monday Monday, Apparitions, Never Better, Primeval and Commander.
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