A BEAUTIFUL house in the countryside near Malvern will be the backdrop for a West End hit play.

The Chapterhouse Theatre Company has just started using Birtsmorton Court as a venue for open-air productions.

Saturday saw the company's debut there, with Shakes-peare's As You Like It.

On Friday, July 23, the company returns with Yasmina Reza's comedy masterpiece Art, which took the West End by storm when it opened there.

Translated by Christopher Hampton, the play won every major comedy award in London, went on to become one of the most successful shows in Broadway history and has broken box-office records all over the UK.

Serge buys a new painting. Marc hates it. Yvan's certainly not sure. What begins as a debate about the merits of modern art soon turns into a hilarious debate about the very nature of their longstanding friendship.

Now Chapterhouse has revived it in a new production directed by Nigel Havers, best known for his TV successes such as The Charmer.

Mr Havers is no stranger to the play, having been one of the stars when it was staged in Malvern in April 2000.

Chapterhouse is performing the play at some of England's most historic houses and other buildings, including Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire, Durham Castle and Clare College, Cambridge.

Tickets are £15 for adults, £13 for OAPs and £10 for students and under-16s.

They are available from tourist information centres at Malvern, Tewkesbury and Worcester, or from See Tickets on 0871 2200260.

The grounds will be opened at 6.30pm for picnics, and playgoers are advised to bring rugs and low-backed seating.