The play, directed by Anthony Page, has sets by Hildegard Bechtler, costume design by Deirdre Clancy, lighting by Howard Harrison and sound by John Leonard and John Owens. It is produced by Duncan C. Weldon and Paul Elliott for Triumph Entertainment Partners Ltd., and opens at the Albery June 12 for a limited season.

The Master Builder tells the story of Halvard Solness (Patrick Stewart), an aging builder and architect who has ruthlessly built up his reputation at the expense of his relationship with his wife and colleagues. Solness fears being usurped by youth, while at the same time desperately needing to be nurtured by it. When a vivacious young woman arrives to collect on a decade-old promise, she inspires him to build castles in the air with tragic consequences.

Ibsen, Norway's best known playwright, is, like Russia's Chekhov, very popular in West End circles, and another of his plays, Brand, starring Ralph Fiennes and directed by Adrian Noble, opens at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket, on June 4.