Atonement to get world stage premier in Chichester

A quarter of a century since the publication of Ian McEwan's critically acclaimed novel Atonement, its stage adaptation is to get a world premiere in West Sussex.

The play - previously made into an Oscar-winning 2007 film starring James McAvoy and Keira Knightley - opens at the Chichester Festival Theatre on Friday and will run until 20 June.

Stretching from the 1930s through World War Two, the story examines the lifetime of guilt suffered after a false accusation dramatically alters several lives.

"I think it's something which has an awful lot to say about the world we live in today, even leaning in a bit towards contemporary cancel culture," said the director Adam Penford.

"I mean, is it possible to be able to atone for anything you do in life, or are some acts purely unforgivable?" he added.

It is the tale of a 13-year-old girl called Briony, who witnesses a romantic moment between her older sister Cecilia and Robbie, their housekeeper's son.

"Misinterpreting it as something sinister, she ends up ends up telling a lie which has major repercussions, not only for her but also those around her," said Penford.

McEwan's book won multiple international literary awards following its release in 2001.

The author said he was "really keen" to see it brought to the stage in 2026 because "a quarter of a century later, it was bound to look and feel different".

"I started writing (the novel) with the rather grand notion that, as we were coming to the end of the 20th Century, we could somehow look back on our mistakes, such as two world wars.

"But that turned into a story about how one mistake could transform a life."

McEwan added that, if the story still has relevance 25 years on, it's because "at heart, we all know we could be Briony".

"People are great self-persuaders - just look at all those court stories where someone falsely accuses another because it fits what pre-existing notions they might have.

"It's a very human thing."

Among those starring in the production are Brighton-born actor Miriam Petche as Cecilia, Jasper Talbot as Robbie and Isabella Dempster as the young Briony.

Briony in later life will now be played by Jessica Turner, after it was recently announced Welsh screen legend Siân Phillips was stepping away from the role.

The stage adaptation is by Christopher Hampton.

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