Produced by Theatre Royal Haymarket Productions and Stanhope Productions in association sith The Royal Shakespeare Company, the seldom-seen Ibsen classic — about a priest who “rejects his dying mother and forbids his wife from mourning their son” — officially opens at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket June 4 and runs through Aug. 30. Directed by Adrian Noble, the play features a translation by Michael Meyer and also stars Oliver Cotton, Jim Creighton, Alan David, Susan Engel, Sarah Everard, Jane Guernier, Colin Haigh, Sidney Livingstone, Jennifer McEvoy, Alistair Petrie, Claire Price, Laura Rees, Clifford Rose and Karen Traynor. Brand was written in 1865 in Rome, in the first year of Ibsen's voluntary exile from Norway. It was his first major success as a playwright and established his name. Peer Gynt came two years later.

Born in Suffolk, England, Ralph Fiennes is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He joined Britain's Royal National Theatre in 1987 and the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1988. His numerous stage credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Six Characters in Search of an Author, Fathers and Sons, King John, The Man Who Came to Dinner, Playing with Trains, The Talking Cure and the Almeida Theatre Company’s production of Hamlet, which transferred to Broadway and scored a 1995 Tony Award for the actor. Fiennes received Oscar nominations for his roles in “Schindler’s List” and “The English Patient.” His other screen credits include “Quiz Show,” “Sunshine,” “The End of the Affair” and “Maid in Manhattan.”

Tickets to Brand, priced between £12 and £40, are available by calling 011 44 20 7930 8800.