Some of the finest talents of New York and London theatre converge at The Old Vic to launch the London leg of an extraordinary venture - The Bridge Project - an unprecedented three-year, transatlantic partnership uniting The Old Vic with Brooklyn Academy of Music, and Neal Street Productions.

Academy Award-winner (American Beauty) Sam Mendes, returns to the London stage to direct a formidable group of actors in an ocean-spanning double-bill of revered classics. The transatlantic company take the stage in Olivier Award-winner Tom Stoppard’s new version of The Cherry Orchard, Chekhov’s daring, droll meditation on bourgeois materialism and what remains in its wake.

The disintegrating royal friendships and inklings of adultery of Shakespeare’s rich tragicomedy The Winter’s Tale, make up the second part of the double-bill – a magical testament to the follies of hasty judgement and the force of love as a means of reconciliation.

Sam Mendes was founder and Artistic Director of the Donmar Warehouse for a decade and has directed theatre at the RSC, National Theatre, plus both in the West End and on Broadway. His film directorial credits include Road to Perdition and the upcoming Revolutionary Road.