Dame Eileen Atkins plays a feminist literary giant taken hostage by a fan with a grudge in farcical new comedy, The Female Of The Species.

Margot Mason is on a deadline. When an uninvited fan arrives unexpectedly at her home, followed by her family and friends, Margot's feminist world begins to spiral hilariously out of control.

Atkins's previous stage work includes The Sea, There Came A Gypsy Riding and Honour, in which she starred opposite her The Female Of The Species co-star Anna Maxwell Martin. On screen, her film credits include Cold Mountain, The Hours and Gosford Park, while on television she starred opposite Judi Dench in Cranford.

Maxwell Martin is one of British theatre's brightest talents, appearing recently in productions such as Cabaret, His Dark Materials and The Coast Of Utopia. Television credits include Poppy Shakespeare, Bleak House and North And South.

The Female Of The Species playwright Joanna Murray Smith is arguably Australia's leading playwright. Her work was first seen in London when the National Theatre staged Honour in 2003. Subsequently Murray Smith has Bombshells staged at the Arts in 2004 and Scenes From A Marriage produced at the Belgrade theatre, Coventry earlier this year.

For more about The Female Of The Species read the First Night Feature or The Big Interview with Joanna Murray Smith.