The production is initially booking to Nov. 8.

Presented in what the published edition of the text calls a "vertiginous new version" by Goold and Ben Power (Headlong's literary associate), the play has been updated and recontextualized, becoming "a dark parable for a media-obsessed age and an exhilarating exploration of how we define art, ourselves and 'reality' in the 21st-centruy." Goold and Power previously collaborated on Faustus, a reworking of Christopher Marlowe's play. Six Characters originally premiered in Rome in 1921, and is heralded for changing theatre's perception of itself, as it blurs the borders between fiction and life, and between the stage and the world outside.

The production follows the West End transfer in 2007 of Goold's production of Macbeth, starring Patrick Stewart in the title role, that also originated at Chichester's Minerva Theatre and likewise transferred to the Gielgud Theatre, before going on to a Broadway run earlier this year.

The full Chichester cast for Six Characters in Search of an Author includes Ian McDiarmid, Jamie Bower, Eleanor David, Noma Dumezweni, Dyfan Dwyfor, Christine Entwistle, Denise Gough, Jake Harders, Jeremy Joyce, John Mackay, Freya Parker and Robin Pearce.

The West End run is presented by Carole Winter and Michael Edwards. To book tickets phone the box office at 0844 482 5130 or visit www.delfontmackintosh.co.uk.