Dame Maggie Smith, last seen in the West End in Alan Bennett's The Lady In The Van at the Queen's Theatre, is to return to the West End next year - date and venue to be confirmed - in a new play by David Hare.

Hare's play is called The Breath of Life, but details about the plot have so far been kept under wraps. Dame Maggie is one of Britain's greatest leading ladies and one of a handful of stars who can guarantee box office success.

David Hare is one of our most successful contemporary playwrights, whose Amy's View was a huge hit, on both sides of the Atlantic, for Dame Judi Dench. Producer Robert Fox has brought these two talents together and the result is likely to be one of the highest profile first nights of 2002.

Fox recently said that his plans to bring Smith to Broadway in The Lady in the Van in 2003 were currently on hold.

—by Paul Webb Theatrenow
and Robert Simonson, Playbill On-Line