Lesley Manville and Anna Maxwell Martin to lead first major West End revival of August: Osage County

What is August: Osage County about?

The play follows the dysfunctional Weston family as they reunite at their Oklahoma home after a sudden family crisis. Long-buried secrets and simmering resentments come to the surface in what has become one of the defining dramas of the 21st century. First staged by Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 2007, the play later transferred to Broadway and London's National Theatre before being adapted into the Oscar-nominated 2013 film starring Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts.

Lesley Manville said: “I’m delighted to be taking on August: Osage County with Jeremy Herrin directing. It’s an epic piece of American literature written by the truly great Tracy Letts. It has not been seen in London for almost 20 years, so I cannot wait to bring this complex, funny, tragic, ultimate family saga to the West End and create the matriarch, Violet Weston.”

Director Jeremy Herrin added: “August: Osage County is one of the great plays of our time, and it firmly places Tracy Letts as heir to O’Neill, Miller and Williams in the continuum of the best American playwrights. It’s a darkly funny and gripping family drama that transcends its form. As a brilliant actor himself and long-standing member of Steppenwolf, Tracy knows how to write for actors. I’m excited to bring together a fantastic ensemble for the first major revival of this play.

“I’m thrilled to be reunited with Lesley Manville after her Tony Award win, and I can’t wait to see her square up against Anna Maxwell Martin, whose work I’ve long admired. I’ve loved this play since I saw it on Broadway in 2008, and I can’t wait to explore all its twists and turns in the Noël Coward Theatre, the perfect space for this searing and epically entertaining show.”

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