Samantha Spiro in Wesker's Chicken Soup... at Royal Court

Samantha Spiro will star in a new revival of Arnold Wesker's Chicken Soup with Barley, directed by Dominic Cooke, which opens at the Royal Court Downstairs on 7 Jun 2011, following previews from 3 Jun, running through to 9 Jul 2011.

It is directed by Dominic Cooke, designed by Ultz, Lighting is by Charles Balfour, sound by Gareth Fry.

Sarah Khan is an East End Jewish mother, a feisty political fighter and a staunch communist. Battling against the State and her shirking husband she desperately tries to keep her family together.

Samantha Spiro plays 'Sarah Khan.' She last appeared at the Royal Court in 'The Family Plays' and most recently appeared in 'Hello Dolly!' at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, for which she won an Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical. On television, she recently won a 2011 Comedy Award in the Best Female Comedy Breakthrough category for her part in the TV sitcom "Grandma's House' on BBC 1. Her other credits include 'Much Ado About Nothing' at Regent's Park,' Twelfth Night' at the Donmar Warehouse.

Royal Court's Artistic Director Dominic Cooke said, "Bringing Arnold Wesker's play back to the Royal Court after 50 years is an exciting prospect. Chicken Soup with Barley is an epic play that spans twenty years in the life of an East End Jewish family. It vividly captures a loss of political idealism, a feeling which chimes with our own confused times. I'm delighted that Samantha Spiro, who I've admired for many years, will be playing the pivotal role of the matriarch 'Sarah Khan.'