Thandie Newton Set for West End Run in Death and the Maiden

Thandie Newton will star in the West End revival of Ariel Dorfman's Death and the Maiden. Performances begin October 13 at the Comedy Theatre, with opening night set for October 24. Directed by Jeremy Herrin, the limited engagement will run through January 21, 2012.

The play follows Paulina Salas (Newton), a political prisoner who never saw the face of her captor, but clearly remembered their voice and mannerisms. Years after her release, she acts as judge and jury to a man she believes to have been her oppressor.

Newton's many film credits include Crash, Mission Impossible II, Beloved, The Pursuit of Happyness, Run Fat Boy Run, W., 2012, For Colored Girls, Huge and the currently filming Tyler Perry movie Good Deeds.

Death and the Maiden first premiered at London's Royal Court Theatre in 1991, before transferring to the West End for a year-long run. Glenn Close earned a Tony Award for leading the cast of the 1992 Broadway mounting opposite Richard Dreyfuss and Gene Hackman. A 1994 film adaptation directed by Roman Polanski starred Sigourney Weaver and Ben Kingsley.