THE Almeida Theatre returns to Malvern next week with Yasmina Reza's first play Conversations After a Burial.

The playwright's talents have already been demonstrated in Malvern with Art earlier this year, starring Nigel Havers, a play which won Moliere, Evening Standard, Olivier and Tony awards.

Conversations After a Burial follows a single day in the life of Nathan, Edith and Alex who gather an their old country house, with Uncle Pierre and his wife Julienne, to bury their father, Simon.

Simon's memoir, previously unknown, of his life as a young man answers many questions about his behaviour but opens painful wounds. The day is further complicated by the unwelcome arrival of Alex's ex-lover Elisa.

The cast includes Claire Bloom as Julienne, the multi-awarding winning actress whose theatrical credits include playing Cordelia to Sir John Gielgud's King Lear. On television she has won an Emmy for The Belle of Amhurst, a BAFTA for best actress in Shadowlands and a BAFTA nomination for Brideshead Revisited.

Joining her is David Calder, who played Robert Bramwell in the series Bramwell and Sir Paul Condon in the recent Murder of Stephen Lawrence, along with Clare Holman, Matthew Marsh and Amanda Root,

The director is Howard Davies, who directed Helen Mirren in Collected Stories, which premiered in Malvern in October last year.

He has recently directed Arthur Miller's All My Sons at the National Theatre.

The play opens on Tuesday (November 14) and runs until Saturday, November 18, with performances at 8pm and Wednesday and Saturday matinees at 2.30pm.

Tickets are from £18 to £10, with student tickets priced at £8, from the box office on 01684 892277.

The play contains strong language.