THE award-winning Vincent In Brixton comes to Warwick Arts Centre as part of The National Theatre's UK tour from Monday.

Based on the true events of Vincent van Gogh's early life in London, the play stars acclaimed actress Clare Higgins as Vincent's landlady Ursula Loyer and young Dutch actor Ruben Brinkman in his UK debut as Vincent.

Written by Nicholas Wright and directed by Richard Eyre, the play is set between 1873 and 1876. The 20-year-old future artist rents a room in the house of an English widow.

Details from letters Vincent wrote to his younger brother Theo show that at the time, Vincent was an unsophisticated young man. He went to church and for long walks. He talked about walking around Brixton and seeing the faces of the poor and how beautiful he found them.

But writer Nicholas Wright speculates a brief affair between the young Vincent and his 45-year-old landlady may have sparked his artistic awakening. He said: "When a young person falls in love, that's the moment when the whole human race seems to be transformed and you look at things differently."

Tickets for the play, which runs until October 18, are priced £10-£22.50 from the box office on 024 7652 4524 or online at www.warwickartscentre.co.uk