La Bete will star Pierce, Lumley & Rylance

Mark Rylance, David Hyde Pierce and Joanna Lumley will star in the first major revival of David Hirson's Olivier Award-winning comedy La Bete.

This new production, helmed by acclaimed comedy director Matthew Warchus, will begin performances in London's West End in June 2010 before transferring to Broadway for a fall engagement beginning in Sep 2010 at a theatre to be announced.

Warchus directed both of last season's Tony Award-winning plays: 'The Norman Conquests' and 'God of Carnage,' for which he also won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play, as well as the previous season's 'Boeing-Boeing' which also won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play and starred Mark Rylance in his Broadway debut.

American playwright David Hirson's 1991 play, La Bete, is a comedy about Elomire (Pierce), a high-minded classical dramatist who loves only the theater, and Valere (Rylance), a low-brow street clown who loves only himself. When the fickle princess (Lumley) decides she's grown weary of Elomire's royal theatre troupe, he and Valere are left fighting for survival as art squares off with ego in a literary showdown for the ages.

The original Broadway production of La Bete premiered in 1991 and only ran for a total of 40 performances, the production was however nominated for five Tony awards. Directed by Richard Jones, it starred Dylan Baker, Johann Carlo and Michael Cumpsty. Following its Broadway run, a new production was mounted in London where it became a commercial and critical success, winning the 1992 Olivier Award for Best Comedy.

The West End engagement of La Bete will play London's Comedy Theatre from 26 Jun - 28 Aug 2010. The Broadway engagement will play a Shubert Theatre to be named later, along with exact dates.

Mark Rylance (Valere) can currently be seen in London at the Apollo Theatre in 'Jerusalem' for which his critically-acclaimed performance has won him the Evening Standard and Critics' Circle Awards for Best Actor as well as a nomination for the forthcoming Laurence Olivier Awards. Previously he played 'Hamm' in Samuel Beckett's 'Endgame' at the Duchess Theatre in London. In 2007/8 Rylance played the role of 'Robert' in Boeing-Boeing in the West End and on Broadway, a role for which he won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play. As Artistic Director of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre his work as an actor included the title roles in 'Henry V' and 'Hamlet' as well as 'Cleopatra' in 'Antony and Cleopatra' and Olivia in 'Twelfth Night.' His other theatre work includes many productions for the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre as well as roles at the Donmar Warehouse and the Royal Court.

David Hyde Pierce (Elomire) made his professional and Broadway debut in 1982 as the 'waiter' in Christopher Durang's 'Beyond Therapy,' and his other Broadway credits include 'The Heidi Chronicles,' 'Monty Python's Spamalot,' 'Accent on Youth,' and the Kander and Ebb/Rupert Holmes musical 'Curtains,' for which he won the 2007 Tony Award for Leading Actor in a Musical. He is famous to TV audiances for his role as 'Niles' in the Emmy award-winning sit-com 'Frasier.'

Joanna Lumley (Princess Conti) is making her Broadway debut in La Bete, she is best known for playing 'Patsy Stone' in TV's 'Absolutely Fabulous.' Previously her TV appearances included 'Purdy' in 'The New Avengers' in the late 1970s as well as 'Sapphire and Steel' in the late 70s early 80s. Her stage work in the UK includes 'Madame Ranevsky' in 'The Cherry Orchard' for Sheffield Theatres, 'Gertrude Lawrence' in "Noel and Gertie" for the King's Head (Fringe venue), 'Elvira' in 'Blithe Spirit' at the Vaudeville Theatre, as well as roles in 'The Letter' for the Lyric Hammersmith.