Atonement

By Ian McEwan
Adapted for the stage by Christopher Hampton

I’ll wait for you. Come back. Come back to me. 

On an English country estate during the blazing summer of 1935, 13 year-old Briony Tallis witnesses a passionate scene between her elder sister Cecilia and the son of their housekeeper, Robbie. In a disastrous desire for drama but only a dim understanding of its impact, Briony makes an accusation which will fatally alter Cecilia and Robbie’s lives and many others too – for which she will spend the rest of her life trying to atone.

Stretching from the 1930s through the Second World War to the present day, Ian McEwan’s dazzling masterpiece was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and voted by Time Magazine and the Guardian as one of the 100 greatest novels of the past century.

This world premiere stage adaptation is by Christopher Hampton, whose many plays and adaptations also include The Philanthropist and Les Liaisons Dangereuses, which won the Olivier and Evening Standard Awards for Best Play.

Siân Phillips returns to Chichester to play the older Briony Tallis; her distinguished stage work includes the Olivier and Tony Award-nominated Marlene and Olivier-nominated Cabaret, and on screen I, Claudius. Miriam Petche (HBO/BBC’s Industry) plays Cecilia, and Jasper Talbot (Redlands) plays Robbie.

Adam Penford, Artistic Director of Nottingham Playhouse where his recent work includes James Graham’s award-winning Punch, also in the West End and on Broadway, makes a welcome return to Chichester following his 2023 production of The Sound of Music.

Atonement was originally commissioned and developed by Melting Pot.