By Tamsin Greig is to star in the UK premiere of the musical adaptation of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.
The Episodes actress will make her musical theatre debut in David Yazbek and Jeffrey Lane's version of the Oscar-nominated film.
Tony Award winner Bartlett Sher will direct the production, which will run for 20 weeks at The Playhouse Theatre on January 12, 2015. Previews begin from December 20.
Greig said: "I am excited, thrilled and terrified to have been invited to collaborate with artists of the calibre of Pedro Almodóvar, Bart Sher, David Yazbek and Jeffrey Lane to perform in a musical.
"If it's true that you are only as good as the company you keep, then I am in very safe hands. And I feel very fortunate to have been encouraged - well, bullied - by my agent to have singing lessons, to learn new skills and to experience other creative mediums. I have also run out of excuses why I can't do it!"
Set in liberated Spain, the original black comedy film followed Pepa (Greig) and her friends Candela and Lucia as they deal with their personal lives and struggle for power.
Director Sher said: "I keep returning to Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown because Pedro's vision of the world and women, his humour and his style, seem more important now than at any time since the film premiered. It's a joy to return to Pedro's world."
Pedro Almodóvar added: "I love that my Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown resists the passing of time. 26 years after having been created, they're still alive. This time, with the very talented Bart Sher in command, they're taking London, a city that's always been to me the paradigm of freedom, pleasure and modernity. I wish them a long and funny stay!"
Tamsin Greig previously won a Laurence Olivier and Critics Award for Best Actress in Much Ado About Nothing, and was nominated for her role in The Little Dog Laughed.
