Subject: Damian Lewis returns to West End stage

Actor Damian Lewis, who will shortly be seen playing Henry VIII in the BBC adaptation of Wolf Hall, is to return to the West End stage next year.

The former Homeland star will play Teach, one of a trio of crooks, in David Mamet's classic American Buffalo.

It marks Lewis's first stage turn since 2009, when he played opposite Keira Knightley in The Misanthrope.

Lewis, who won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his Homeland role, said he was "thrilled" to be back on stage.

He added he was "excited" to be working with director Daniel Evans, whom he trained with at London Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

The play will run at London's Wyndham's Theatre from 16 April to 27 June.

"I'm truly thrilled to be working on Mamet's incredible play with Damian," said Evans. "I know his particular qualities as an actor will offer us something very special in this part."

Evans, also an award-winning actor, is the current artistic director of Sheffield Theatres.

Mamet's play, which follows three small-time criminals whose play for one major heist goes awry, premiered on Broadway in 1977.

Lewis will take on the role played by Dustin Hoffman in the 1996 big screen version. Further casting will be announced in due course.

The British actor - who was recently featured on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs - follows in the footsteps of his wife, actress Helen McCrory, who received critical acclaim as the leading lady in the National Theatre's production of Medea earlier this year.

Lewis has a crop of big screen roles being released in 2015 including Werner Herzog's Queen of the Desert, opposite Nicole Kidman, John le Carre adaptation Our Kind of Traitor, alongside Ewan McGregor, and The Silent Storm, which debuted at the London Film Festival in October.