Casting has been announced for the Donmar Warehouse's production of The Vortex, which plays the famed theatre Dec. 5, 2002, through Feb. 15, 2003.

According to the Donmar's official website, those scheduled to perform the Noël Coward play include Francesca Annis, Bette Bourne, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Deborah Findlay, Toni Kanal, Indira Varma and Daniel Weyman. Michael Grandage will direct the production, which will feature design by Christopher Oram, lighting by Howard Harrison and sound by Fergus O'Hare.

Coward's Vortex caused a sensation during its 1924 London premiere, making a star out of the playwright, who also acted in the original production. The play concerns the troubled Lancaster family and several startling revelations.

Francesca Annis, who heads the cast as Florence Lancaster, boasts an impressive array of theatrical and film credits. Onstage, she has been seen in productions of Hedda Gabler, Arms and the Man, Hamlet, Lady Windemere's Fan, A Month in the Country, Mrs. Klein, Romeo & Juliet and Measure for Measure. Her screen credits include roles in "Deceit," "Onegin," "Milk," "The Debt Collector" and "Headhunters." Annis won a BAFTA TV Award for her performance in the 1978 mini-series "Lillie" and was also nominated for her work in "Reckless" (1997), "Reckless: The Movie" (1998) and "Wives and Daughters" (1999).

The Donmar Warehouse is located at 41 Earlham Street in London. The telephone number for the theatre's box office is 011 44 20 7369 1732; go to www.donmar-warehouse.com for more information. —By Andrew Gans