Laura Linney and Seth Numrich to Star in Switzerland at the Geffen Playhouse
(© David Gordon)
Three-time Tony nominee Laura Linney (Time Stands Still, The Big C) and Seth Numrich (War Horse) have been announced to star in the Geffen Playhouse's world-premiere production of Switzerland, written by Joanna Murray-Smith (The Female of the Species, The Gift) and coproduced with Sydney Theatre Company. Mark Brokaw (Cinderella) directs.
The third Murray-Smith play produced by the Geffen in five years, Switzerland takes place in the home of legendary author Patricia Highsmith (Linney). The chain-smoking, alcoholic grande dame of crime literature lives out her reclusive existence in Switzerland, where her permanent sense of rage and injustice contrasts with the neutrality of her surroundings. One morning, Edward (Numrich), an attractive young emissary from her New York publishing house arrives at her door, tasked with persuading the intimidating genius to write the next anticipated addition to her sinister Mr. Ripley series.
"The more I knew about Patricia Highsmith, the more obsessed I became by her," said Murray-Smith. "Part of the pull of her character was that she was in many ways an utterly vicious and unlikeable person, deeply unkind, irascible, and self-important but she was simultaneously one of the great, great psychological writers of the 20th century. Part of her brilliance was that she understood evil and its place within the ambiguity of human beings – how we can present as one thing and be something else. She knew – and evoked in her writing – how we all have deeply troubling characteristics – envy, cruelty, aspirations that make us transgress. She embodied that truth and it was fundamental to her creativity."
Performances will begin March 6 in advance of a March 13 opening and will run through April 19.
For tickets and more information, click here.
