Michael Attenborough has unveiled his first season as artistic director of the Almeida.

The Islington theatre will reopen in spring 2003 after a multi-million pound refurbishment aimed to upgrade its physical facilities to match its artistic reputation.

The plays announced follow:

The Lady From the Sea by Henrik Ibsen, translated by Pam (Piaf) Gems and directed by Sir Trevor Nunn. As reported previously by Theatrenow, it is expected that Nicole Kidman will star.

I.D. by Sir Antony Sher, directed by Nancy Mackler (Artistic Director of Shared Experience theatre company). This is Sir Antony's first play, and is set in South Africa in the 1960's.

Five Gold Rings by Joanna Laurens, directed by Michael Attenborough. Joanna Laurens's first play, The Three Birds, won the Critics Circle Most Promising Playwright Award in 2000, and has just been premiered in New York.

The Late Henry Moss by Sam Shepard — further details to be announced.

Oedipus Plays. The Almeida will maintain its reputation for staging vivid revivals of the classics (Dame Diana Rigg in Medea in the early 1990's, which transferred to the West End and Broadway, for example) when Michael Attenborough directs two Oedipus plays, Oedipus Tyrannus and Oedipus at Colonus in 2004.

After leaving Hampstead Theatre, where he was artistic director, in 1989, Michael Attenborough became executive producer and resident director at the Royal Shakespeare Company. He was appointed artistic director of the Almeida Theatre earlier this year.

—By Paul Webb Theatrenow