Ruth Wilson to star in The Human Voice in the West End

Ruth Wilson is to star in Ivo van Hove’s adaptation of Jean Cocteau’s The Human Voice in the West End.

The monologue piece opens at the Harold Pinter Theatre on 22 March, with previews from 17 March, and runs for three weeks only until 9 April with tickets on sale now.

Ivo van Hove also directs with design by Jan Versweyveld, originally produced by Internationaal Theater Amsterdam.

We’ve never been more connected. We’ve never been more alone.

Two-time Olivier Award-winner Ruth Wilson stars in The Human Voice – the searing story of a woman’s heartbreak over the course of a final phone call with her former lover.

Reunited with groundbreaking director Ivo van Hove for the first time since their acclaimed Hedda Gabler, Ruth Wilson returns to the West End for 31 performances in this explosive reimagining of one of theatre’s greatest roles.

Jean Cocteau’s stunning monologue is more illuminating about love and loneliness than ever.

Book The Human Voice tickets here »

Ruth Wilson said: “I am absolutely thrilled to be collaborating again with Ivo and Jan on this wonderful, heartbreaking and deeply human monologue from Jean Cocteau. A woman alone with only her phone as companion, Cocteau explores the nature of intimate relations through inanimate objects.

“In a world in which are all addicted to and dependent on our phones, this play from the 1930s couldn’t feel more prescient. Ivo is the perfect director to bring Cocteau’s play to life as both share a love of the absurd as a mirror to truth.”

Producer Sonia Friedman added: “It’s a privilege to begin the New Year in reuniting the extraordinary talents of two incredible theatre makers – Ruth Wilson and Ivo van Hove, bringing to London Ivo’s adaptation of Jean Cocteau’s The Human Voice, an intimate, captivating and devastatingly raw monologue.”

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About the author: Josh Darvill

Josh is Stageberry's editor with over five years of experience writing about theatre in the West End and across the UK. Prior to following his passion for musicals, he worked for more than a decade as a TV journalist.