Christopher Shinn's 'Against' To Premiere In London

Christopher Shinn, the Hartford-born, Wethersfield-raised playwright, whose dramas have been produced in England, New York and in regional theaters across the country, has a new play that will p-remiuere at the Almeida Theatre in London in August.

"Against" will begin performances Aug. 12, opening Aug. 23 and play through Sept. 30. The show is directed by Ian Rickson, former artistic director of the Royal Court, whose Royal Court productions of The Weir, "The Seagull" "Jerusalem" and "The Rover" all transferred to Broadway.

The production stars Ben Whishaw., most recently seen in Broadway's "The Crucible." Whishaw returns to the Almeida following an acclaimed performance in 2015's "Bakkhai." Other theatre credits include West End productions of Mojo and Peter and Alice, and "Hamlet" at the Old Vic.

His film credits include "A Hologram for the King," "The Danish Girl," "Suffragette," "Paddington," "Perfume," "Brideshead Revisited," "In the Heart of the Sea" and playing Q in the James Bond films "Spectre" and "Skyfall." He also played Ariel in the film version of Shakespeare's "The Tempest" directed by Julie Taylor. He's currently filming "Mary Poppins Returns."

The production also features Elliot Barnes-Worrell, Adelle Leonce and Naomi Wirthner.

Set in the future in Silicon Valley, it centers on Luke, played by Whishaw, who is an aerospace billionaire who sets out to change the world. Luke is convinced he is the next messiah, whose calling is to confront violence in America."

Shinn's "An Opening in Time" premiered at Hartford Stage in 2015. It also presented "Dying City," which was a Pulitzer Prize finalist. Other works of Shinn's include "Four" (which was also made into a film) and presented at Hartford's TheaterWorks, "What Didn't Happen," "Now or Later," "Where Do We Live," "Other People," "Teddy Ferrara" and "On the Mountain."

Shinn's plays have also been premiered by the Royal Court Theatre, Lincoln Center Theater, Goodman Theatre, Donmar Warehouse, Manhattan Theatre Club, Playwrights Horizons, Vineyard Theatre, South Coast Rep and Soho Theatre.

He is the winner of an Obie in Playwriting ("Where Do We Live") and a Guggenheim Fellowship. He received the Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Play ("Now or Later").

Shinn lives in New York,where he teaches playwriting at the New School.