Following a regional tour, the play will open at London's Apollo Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue on May 30 following previews that begin May 24. Former RSC artistic director Adrian Noble directs.

The play, with Frank Hauser's translation, was last seen in London in 1990 at the Old Vic, with Sam Mendes directing Derek Jacobi in the title role.

Joining Sher in the cast are Joanne Pearce (who plays Countess de Koefeld), Alex Avery (The Prince of Wales), Jane Murphy (Anne Danby) Robert East (Count de Koefeld) and Sam Kelly (Salomon).

The action revolves around Kean's passion for the beautiful Elena, wife of the Danish Ambassador. The climax comes when Kean abandons his performance as Othello and hurls abuse at Elena whome he sees flirting in the royal box with the Prince of Wales.

Sartre described Kean as "the actor who never ceased acting." The play depicts Kean's private life as a public performance - a tragic-comedy about a man with an insatiable appetite for romantic adventure, an ego as big as a stage and an inability to rescue himself from jeopardy. Sher, a Royal Shakespeare Company regular, was last seen on the London stage in Primo, Sher’s own adaptation of Primo Levi’s Auschwitz memoir, "If This Is A Man."

For more on Kean, which is produced by Thelma Holt, call (0)870 890 1101.