David Mamet’s The Anarchist to Premiere in London

The Anarchist, a new play from Pulitzer Prize-winner David Mamet, will receive its world premiere in London in fall 2012, directed by Rupert Goold. No theater, dates or casting have yet been announced.

The play, according to London’s Daily Mail, centers on two female characters, a prison governor and a prisoner with a life sentence trying to make the case that she merits parole. Producer Matthew Byam Shaw described the play as a "fascinating sword-fight," and said that "we now want two of our leading actresses to fence with each other."

Mamet was most recently represented on Broadway with his plays A Life in the Theater and Race, which he also directed. He won the Pulitzer Prize for his 1984 play, Glengarry Glen Ross, and received Tony nominations for both Glengarry and Speed-the-Plow. His other plays include Oleanna, American Buffalo, Edmond and November, and he is a two-time Academy Award nominee for The Verdict and Wag the Dog. The Anarchist will be the third Mamet play to receive its world premiere in London, following Glengarry Glen Ross (1993) and The Cryptogram (1994).

Goold is the artistic director of London’s Headlong Theatre and an associate director of the Royal Shakespeare Company. His recent credits include Enron (West End and Broadway) and Macbeth, which also played on both the West End and Broadway, starring Patrick Stewart.