Shepard’s 1980 play, directed by Lindsay Posner, will officially open at the Apollo Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue June 13, following previews from June 7.

In recent years Posner has become London’s foremost director of American drama with a series of high-profile productions of works by David Mamet, including Oleanna (starring Aaron Eckhart and Julia Stiles), A Life in the Theatre (with Patrick Stewart and Joshua Jackson), Sexual Perversity in Chicago (with Matthew Perry, Minnie Driver and Hank Azaria) and, most recently, Mamet’s farce Romance (with “Frasier” star John Mahoney).

Speaking to Playbill.com Posner said of Lewis, “She has the perfect quality for the role of May. I think American plays work best with an American cast. English actors tend to be a bit too tame and a bit too English, especially with Shepard.”

Posner also revealed that later this year he will direct a revival of the musical Fiddler on the Roof with Henry Goodman in the lead role of Tevye. The production will open at Sheffield’s Crucible at the end of November and, it’s hoped, will transfer to London in 2007. Posner recently directed Goodman in an Almeida production of Molière's The Hypochondriac.

Fool for Love is set in a Motel room near the Mojave Desert and focuses on the tempestuous relationship between stuntman Eddie (not yet cast) and May. The relationship was formed before they knew of their disturbing common past. Lewis first became internationally known with her appearance in Scorsese’s 1991 remake of “Cape Fear” for which the then 17-year-old received Oscar and Golden Globe nominations.

Leading roles followed in films such as “Kalifornia” with Brad Pitt, “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?” starring Johnny Depp and “Natural Born Killers,” in which she played the homicidal Mallory opposite Woody Harrelson.

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