Two very different reasons for conquering Peru are offered by the church and by Spanish soldier Pizarro; while one claims the cause as for the good of Christianity, the other offers boundless wealth. Whichever way it is perceived, the resulting clash of cultures leaves thousands of helpless Incas slaughtered.

Trevor Nunn, Artistic Director of the National theatre between 1997 and 2003, returns to the South Bank venue for the first time to direct this production. His previous productions at the NT include Love’s Labour’s Lost, Anything Goes, A Streetcar named Desire, Arcadia and Oklahoma! Away from the NT, Nunn is the director behind productions including The Woman In White and Les Misérables.

Shaffer’s The Royal Hunt Of The Sun was the first new play to be staged by the National theatre while it was housed at the Old Vic in 1964.