CHIMERICA Plays the Almeida Theatre, May 20- July 6

In an Almeida Theatre and Headlong co-production, Lyndsey Turner directs the World Premiere of Lucy Kirkwood's Chimerica. The production runs at The Almeida Theatre until 6 July 2013, with press night on 28 May. Set designs are by Es Devlin with costumes by Christina Cunningham, lighting by Tim Lutkin, sound by Carolyn Downing and video design by Finn Ross.

The cast is Claudie Blakley, Stephen Campbell Moore, Elizabeth Chan, Vera Chok, Karl Collins, Trevor Cooper, Nancy Crane, Sean Gilder, Sarah Lam, Andrew Leung, David K. S. Tse andBenedict Wong.

Tiananmen Square, 1989. As tanks roll through Beijing and soldiers hammer on his hotel door, Joe - a young American photojournalist - captures a piece of history. When a cryptic message is left in a Beijing newspaper more than 20 years later, Joe is driven to discover the truth behind the unknown hero he captured on film. Who was he? What happened to him? And could he still be alive?

Lucy Kirkwood's plays are The Small Hours, co-written with Ed Hime for Hampstead Theatre, Beauty and The Beast for The National Theatre, Bloody Wimmin for the Tricycle's Women, Power and Politics season, It Felt Empty When the Heart Went at First But It is Alright Now for Clean Break Theatre Company at the Arcola, Guns or Butter for The Union Theatre Terror Festival, Psychogeography and Tinderbox for the Bush Theatre anGrady Hot Potato for Bedlam Theatre. Kirkwood adapted Hedda Gabler for the Gate Theatre and has written for C4's Skins. Her play NSFW opened at the Royal Court in 2012, directed by Simon Godwin.

Lyndsey Turner's Royal Court production of Posh completed its run in the West End in August 2012 and her production of Philadelphia, Here I Come! ran at the Donmar Warehouse last year. Turner's other productions for the Royal Court includes Contractions, A Miracle and Our Private Life. She is Associate Director at Sheffield Theatres where her work includes Alice and The Way of the World. Her other theatre credits include Edgar And Annabel and There Is A War for The National Theatre, Joseph K and Nocturnal for the Gate, My Romantic History for Traverse, Bush, Sheffield Theatres and The Lesson for the Arcola.

Website www.almeida.co.uk