Cate Blanchett to star in first National Theatre play

Blanchett had been due to appear in a different play in London this year

Cate Blanchett is to star in her first play at The National Theatre in London.

The Ocean's 8 actress will appear in a drama titled When We Have Sufficiently Tortured Each Other: Twelve Variations on Samuel Richardson's Pamela.

The play has been written by Martin Crimp, inspired by Samuel Richardson's 1740 novel Pamela: Or, Virtue Rewarded.

Stephen Dillane will appear alongside the Oscar-winning actress in the play, which will open next January. Tickets will go on sale in the autumn.

The National Theatre said the play "breaks through the surface of contemporary debate to explore the messy, often violent nature of desire, and the fluid, complicated roles that men and women play".

It will be directed by Katie Mitchell and involves five characters acting out "a dangerous game of sexual domination and resistance".

Blanchett was due to have starred on the London stage in a new adaptation of the classic 1950 film All About Eve this year, but was reported to have withdrawn as a result of a scheduling conflict.