The heralded Australian theatre company Belvoir returns to New York after premiering Exit the King on Broadway in 2009. Rush also starred in that Ionesco classic, garnering a Tony Award for his performance.

Rush reunites with Exit the King director Neil Armfield (also the co-founder of Belvoir) for the new adaptation of Gogol's work, which will play the Brooklyn Academy of Music Feb. 11-March 12. An official opening has been set for Feb. 16.

Adapted by David Holman with Armfield and Rush, Diary of a Madman first premiered at Australia's Belvoir Street Theatre in December 2010. Australian actress Yael Stone co-stars.

Designing the production are Catherine Martin (set design), Tess Schofield (costume design), Mark Shelton (lighting design), Paul Charlier (sound design) and Alan John (original music).

Based on Gogol's short story, the play centers "on the life of a minor civil servant, Poprischin, in the repressive era of Nicholas I. Written in first-person, diary- entry format, the story follows the protagonist’s yearning for a senior official’s daughter and his elaborate delusions, among them his imagined royal status and communication between animals. Only as Poprischin descends into madness does he attain a measure of greatness. The story satirizes state bureaucracy in 1830s St. Petersburg and relates an average man’s quest for individuality in an indifferent world," according to press notes.

BAM will also host an artists talk with Armfield and Rush Feb. 20 at 6 PM in the Harvey Theater.

For tickets visit BAM.