The Master Builder tells the story of Halvard Solness, a Master Builder who has reached the pinnacle of his career.

His success, however, has come at a cost; his family life is in ruins and he lives in fear that the next generation will rise up and brush him aside.

When Hilde Wangel, a bewitching young woman, arrives to collect a decade-old debt, she breathes new life into his professional pride. As Solness completes his architectural masterpiece, will Hilde be the Master Builder’s ultimate downfall?

The Master Builder stars Stephen Dillane (as the Master Builder) and Gemma Arterton (Hilde Wangel). Dillane was last seen at the Almeida theatre in a one-man Macbeth and is currently appearing in Sam Mendes’s Bridge Project double-bill at the Old Vic. Dillane’s other stage credits include Hamlet, The Real Thing, The Coast Of Utopia and Drunk Enough To Say I Love You.

Arterton made her West End debut earlier this year in The Little Dog Laughed at the Garrick theatre. Her screen roles include the 2007 BBC drama Tess Of The D’Urbervilles, and on film her credits include St Trinian’s, Quantum Of Solace, Clash Of The Titans and Prince Of Persia.

Travis Preston is an internationally celebrated director of theatre and opera. He is also Artistic Director of the Center for New Performance at the California Institute of the Arts.

For more about The Master Builder at the Almeida theatre read the Big Interview with Gemma Arterton.