Previews of the powerful play, featuring a new version written by Tony Harrison, begin May 21 with an official opening set for May 26. The limited engagement, boasting Redgrave in the title role, runs through June 12.

The cast also features Alan Dobie as Talthybius, Darell D’Silva as Odysseus/Polymestor, Lydia Leonard as Polyxena, Matthew Douglas as Polydorus, Christopher Terry as the Guard and Malcolm Tierney as Agamemnon. The Chorus comprises Charlotte Allam, Jane Arden, Rosalie Craig, Maisie Dimbleby, Barbara Gellhorn, Aileen Gonsalves, Michele Moran, Sasha Oakley, Katherine O’Shea, Judith Paris, Natalie Turner-Jones and Sarah Quist.

Hecuba, according to production notes, "celebrates Hecuba, once queen of Troy and now a prisoner of war as she struggles to survive in the aftermath of the Trojan wars. [The play] is a vital examination of the psychology of the powerful and the powerless in time of conflict."

Hecuba is designed by Es Devlin with music by Mick Sands. This production — the RSC's third visit to the Kennedy Center in a five-year relationship — previously played London's Albery Theatre.

Born in London in 1937, Vanessa Redgrave made her Broadway debut in The Lady from the Sea. She also starred on The Great White Way in Orpheus Descending and the 2003 revival of Long Day's Journey Into Night, earning a Tony Award for her performance in the latter. Redgrave won an Academy Award for her work in "Julia"; she was also Oscar nominated for her roles in "Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment," "Isadora," "Mary, Queen of Scots," "The Bostonians" and "Howards End." Redgrave last appeared with the Royal Shakespeare Company when she starred as Imogen in a 1962 production of Cymbeline. Hecuba will play Tuesday-Saturday evenings at 7:30 PM with matinees on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons at 1:30 PM. Tickets, priced $25-$78, are available by calling (202) 467-4600.

Visit www.kennedy-center.org for more information.