The new play by Sebastian Barry follows Edward Albee’s The Goat, Or Who Is Sylvia? and David Eldridge’s Festen into the tiny Islington venue. With the Albee now playing in the West End, and Festen confirmed to join it there, Barry has two tough acts to follow.

However, Dublin-born Barry has acquired a formidable reputation. It was his award-winning 1995 play The Steward Of Christendom at the Royal Court which projected him to the front rank of contemporary writers, and other high-profile shows have included Our Lady Of Sligo and Hinterland, both at the National Theatre.

In Whistling Psyche two strangers spend the night in an old waiting room. One is Florence Nightingale, the other Dr.Barry. Both were reformers, but James Barry became more famous after his death, when it was realised that he was in fact a woman in disguise. It is thought that her real name may have been Miranda Stuart.

Claire Bloom – whose last appearance on this stage was in Yasmina Reza’s Conversations After A Burial in 2000 - plays Nightingale, with Kathryn Hunter as Dr.Barry. Robert Delamere directs, with designs by Simon Higlett, lighting by Tom Mitchell and sound by John Leonard. The production will run until June 12.

For more information call (0)20 7359 4404.