Cate Blanchett brings play to London in artistic swap

Cate Blanchett and Philip Seymour Hoffman are to bring new plays to London.

They both run theatre companies which are to become associates of the Trafalgar Studios.

Blanchett, with her writer husband Andrew Upton, is artistic director of the Sydney Theatre Company which fostered the careers of Australian stars such as Mel Gibson.

Hoffman, star of films including Capote and The Talented Mr Ripley, is a pivotal figure in the LAByrinth Theatre Company of New York.

The idea of the collaboration is to exchange work on a regular basis which might not otherwise be seen in different cities across the world.

All are involved in Riflemind, which was written by Upton, first produced in Sydney, and opens at the Trafalgar Studios in Whitehall this week directed by Hoffman.

The studios are two smaller venues adapted by their owners, the Ambassador Theatre Group, from the old theatre on the site and have been used to present more adventurous work. The new venture is intended to make "creative sparks fly".