Previews will begin April 1 as part of the theatre's Ibsen season with an official opening April 4. The production will run to April 26.

In the play Dr. Stockmann wants to protect lives by telling the truth, but his revelations may cost his town its livelihood. The play questions whether it is possible to be an honest man in a town built on lies, and asks if ruthless consumerism is always going to win out over morality.

Arcola founder Mehmet Ergen returns to his home theatre to direct, after last year establishing Arcola Istanbul in his native Turkey, where he regularly also directs. Ergen most recently directed Chasing the Moment and Silver Birch House at the Arcola.

An Enemy of the People is presented in a new version by Rebecca Lenkiewicz, who returns to the theatre where she wrote its opening play. Her latest play, Her Naked Skin, is scheduled to open at the National's Olivier in July, returning her to the theatre where she made her debut in 2004 with The Night Season.

Hicks' credits include 29 plays at the National, and he has also had long spells with the RSC, where he played the title roles in Coriolanus (in 2002, for which he was nominated for a 2004 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor when it transferred to the Old Vic) and Macbeth (in 2004), amongst others. He has also played the title role of Tamburlaine at the Barbican in 2005 and Christ in Berkoff's Messiah at the Old Vic in 2002. An Enemy of the People will be followed by a new production of Ibsen's The Lady from the Sea, opening on May 2 (following previews from April 29) for a run to May 31. The cast will include Lia Williams, currently appearing in the West End in Alan Ayckbourn's Absurd Person Singular.

To book tickets call 020 7503 1646. For further details visit www.arcolatheatre.com.