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Underneath the Lintel Theatre Tickets

Duchess Theatre Catherine Street, London WC2B 5LA

Underneath the Lintel, Glen Berger's moving and profound story of one man's journey of self-discovery, premieres in the West End for a limited season starring The West Wing's Richard Schiff.

The play centres on a small town librarian whose banal life is suddenly turned upside down by the anonymous return of a library book which is 113 years overdue.

A longing to find out who returned the book soon takes over, and armed with a clue scribbled in the margin and an unclaimed dry-cleaning ticket, he embarks on a magical odyssey which gradually begins to take on a wider and more spiritual meaning.

Glen Berger's remarkable play which unfolds the myth of the Wandering Jew comes to London for a strictly limited season starring Richard Schiff who is best known for his multi-award winning performance as Toby Ziegler in The West Wing...

Underneath the Lintel premiered off-Broadway in 2001 where it played more than 400 performances and won the 2001 Ovation Award for Best Play and was one of Time Out New York's 'Ten Best Plays of the Year'. This production, starring Richard Schiff, opened to stunning reviews at the George Street Playhouse in early 2006 and now transfers to the Duchess Theatre for a limited season. The play is a powerful tour de force - a moving journey of self discovery as one man tries to unpick the mystery of a library book returned after 113 years. With a warm sense of humour, this engaging new play combines an extraordinary performance with an utterly compelling and emotive story . Schiff plays a small town librarian, a man whose life is small, contained and almost perfectly banal. Suddenly the arrival of an overdue library book turns his world upside down and unleashes in him a hitherto unknown detective spirit - he simply must find out who returned the book, as they owe the library a very large fine. The spirit of adventure and discovery soon outweighs any sense of professional duty and he embarks on a magical odyssey which takes on a wider and more significant meaning; he becomes convinced that he's searching for an alternate truth to Everyman.

Richard Schiff's television work includes his much-celebrated portrayal of White House Communications Director Toby Ziegler on The West Wing, for which he received the 'Best Supporting Actor' Emmy Award and garnered three Emmy nominations. He has also appeared in numerous films including I Am Sam, Malcolm X, Lost World: Jurassic Park, People I Know, Forces of Nature, Lucky Numbers, Crazy in Alabama, Deep Impact, Hoffa, Living Out Loud, Doctor Doolittle, Trigger Effect, My Life, Heaven and The Hudsucker Proxy. Like many successful screen actors, his career began on the stage in New York, where he founded and served as the Artistic Director of the Manhattan Repertory Theater, and directed off-Broadway productions, including Antigone, starring Angela Bassett. Other noteworthy stage performances include Blood, Love and Madness, The Lower Depths, Talking Minks, Plain Brown Wrapper, Dark Age and Blues for Mister Charlie. Richard won a Dramalogue award for his starring role as Goose in David Rabe's Goose and Tom Tom, and an Ovation Award for his role in Urban Folktales.

Maria Mileaf's credits include the New York premieres of The Argument (Vineyard), Going To St Ives (Primary Stages where it won the Best New Play Award in the Outer Critics Circle) and Laugh I Thought I'd Die (PS122) amongst numerous other productions off-Broadway, regionally across the US and recent productions as part of the Williamstown Theatre Festival, the Berkshire Theatre Festival and her first film The House in Capricorn.

Glen Berger's plays have won many awards including the 2001 Ovation Award, the 2003 Sterling Award, one of Time Out New York's Top Ten Best Plays of 2001, the Portland Drammy Award for Best Script 2002. He has written several episodes for the PBS children's series Arthur for which he was nominated for two Emmys, and other TV work includes episodes for Postcards From Buster, Time Warp Trio, Peep and he is the head writer for Fetch. Underneath the Lintel is presented in the West End by Michael Edwards and Carole Winter with Paul Coxwell.

Michael Edwards and Carole Winter's West End credits include Reginald Rose's Twelve Angry Men directed by Harold Pinter and Peter Stein's acclaimed production of Blackbird by David Harrower. For more information, visit www.mjeproductions.com

Paul Coxwell was a recipient of the 2005 New Producer's Bursary, Underneath the Lintel is his first West End production.

Would you recognise a miracle if you saw one? An ancient myth is unlocked when a small town librarian embarks on a quest to find out who anonymously returned a book, 113 years overdue. A clue scribbled in the margin and an unclaimed dry cleaning ticket takes us on a magical adventure that spans the globe and the ages. Underneath The Lintel tells the humorous, moving and profound story of one man's journey of self discovery.