Hampstead boss takes chance on chess play

THE true story that inspired hit musical Chess is coming to the stage as part of a season of plays dominated by tales of espionage and Cold War clashes.

Ravens: Spassky Vs Fischer revisits the moment American Bobby Fischer took on Soviet world champion Boris Spassky in Iceland in 1972 at a tournament widely seen as a proxy war between the two superpowers.

The hit musical, co-written by ABBA stars Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, referred to its leading characters as only The American and The Russian but the play by actor-turned-writer Tom Morton-Smith will delve into the story behind the men.

It is one of six new plays announced by Hampstead Theatre’s artistic director Roxana Silbert, pictured, in her debut season. She said they were still working out how to capture t h e d ra ma o f the game, adding: “Everyone said, ‘A play about chess? Really?’ But it is amazing. This was the first ever televised chess match. It is the same question the television companies had and it was a massive hit.”

Also announced today is Haystack, about two IT experts recruited to work for the intelligence services at GCHQ in Cheltenham.

The King Of Hell’s Palace will open the season in September. It is about a Chinese whistleblower who exposed a real-life scandal in which thousands contracted Aids in a government-sponsored scheme.

Also on the programme is Botticelli In The Fire, about the Italian renaissance painter. Ms Silbert, who previously ran the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, also said the main stage would be refurbished.