Be Near Me follows David Anderton, an Oxford-educated Catholic priest who is assigned to a parish in a dispirited Scottish town on the Ayrshire coast. Lonely and adrift he befriends two unstable teenagers from the local school and is drawn into their exotic world. As events spin out of control he is forced to face his greatest trial yet.

Adapted for the stage by actor, writer and director Ian McDiarmid, from Andrew O’Hagan’s Booker Prize-nominated novel, Be Near Me is a lyrical story about love, morality and regret.

In addition to adapting Be Near Me, McDiarmid also plays the lead role of Father Anderton. The performer, whose credits include Six Characters In Search Of An Author (Gielgud theatre) and Tony-winning Broadway hit Faith Healer, returns to the Donmar Warehouse where he previously appeared in John Gabriel Borkman and Pirandello’s Henry IV. The former Artistic Director of the Almeida theatre, McDiarmid’s film appearances include Sleepy Hollow, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and the Star Wars series.

Be Near Me is directed by John Tiffany, Associate Director of the National Theatre of Scotland, which co-produces the production. Tiffany’s credits include the much-lauded Black Watch, The Bacchae, Elizabeth Gordon Quinn and Home: Glasgow.

O’Hagan’s novel Be Near Me was published in 2006. His other works include Our Fathers, which was shortlisted for both the Booker and Whitbread First Novel Awards, Personality and The Atlantic Ocean.

Following its run at the Donmar Warehouse, Be Near Me embarks on an eight-week UK tour.

For more about Be Near Me at the Donmar Warehouse, read the First Night Feature or the Big Interview with Blythe Duff.