Hunter first appeared in the play at California's San Jose Repertory Theatre in 2001. Set in the bog marshes of Ireland, the drama is a reworking of the Euripidean tragedy Medea, with Hunter playing Hester Swaine, the daughter of a gypsy tinker who seeks revenge after being evicted from land owned by the father of her child. Dublin writer Carr wrote the play in 1998 and was later to draw on Euripides again for her drama "Ariel" (2002), which is based on Iphegenia at Aulis.
Friedman has a track record of introducing Hollywood stars to West End audiences. Her production company staged John Kolvenbach's On an Average Day, starring Woody Harrelson and Kyle MacLachlan; Michael Weller's What the Night Is For with Gillian Anderson; a revival of David Mamet's Sexual Perversity in Chicago starring Matthew Perry and Minnie Driver; and even Madonna in Up for Grabs by David Williamson.
Although Hunter is best known for her film roles — "O Brother Where Art Thou?," "Broadcast News" and "The Piano," for which she won an Oscar, the actress has experience on Broadway where she made her 1982 debut in Beth Henley's Crimes of the Heart.