"Embers" extends to 24 June 2006

"Embers" extends to 24 June 2006

Embers , has been extended by 4 weeks to 24 June 2006 at the Duke of York's Theatre

Written by Christopher Hampton, based on the novel by Sandor Marai, starring Jeremy Irons, the play opened at the Duke of York's Theatre 1 March 2006, following previews from 15 Feb 2006 to positive notices from the popular press: NICHOLAS DE JONGH for THE EVENING STANDARD says, "I was fired, moved and enthralled by Embers. I rate it as one of the major experiences of my theatre-going life." ALASTAIR MACAULAY for THE FINANCIAL TIMES says, "All the talk is intelligent, textured, philosophical, yet never so highflown as to become difficult." PAUL TAYLOR for THE INDEPENDENT says, "It's a weirdly unbalanced evening." MICHAEL BILLINGTON for THE GUARDIAN says, "I found it elegant, elegiac and psychologically penetrating." CHARLES SPENCER for THE DAILY TELEGRAPH says, "This one's a hard slog...This, I fear, is a show for only his [Jeremy Irons] most devoted fans." BENEDICT NIGHTINGALE for THE TIMES says, "The novel was stranger, richer, more satisfying than the play."

Directed by Michael Blakemore, the play explores themes of love, friendship and betrayal, Embers is set in war torn Europe in 1940, in a Hungarian castle, where a retired general Henrik awaits the arrival of Konrad, a friend he has not seen for several decades. This new play concerns a key event in the past that was pivotal in the lives of the protagonists.

In Embers , the fateful day was over 30 years before when Konrad had abruptly deserted a hunting party he was on with his lifelong friend Henrik. The following day Konrad mysteriously fled Vienna leaving behind his two inseparable friends - Henrik and his beautiful wife Kriztina. The passing of so many years has not dulled Henrik's memory of that day nor answered the questions that still haunt him.