A Young Vic/Wiener Festwochen and Ruhrfestspiele Recklinghausen co-production/

by Arthur Schnitzler in a new version by David Harrower Co-commissioned by Warwick Arts Centre.

Luc Bondy, one of Europe's most distinguished directors, returns to the Young Vic following Cruel and Tender in 2005.

A young man has an affair with a married woman. He is terrified her husband will challenge him to a duel and kill him. At a party, he flirts with a girl who believes she is truly loved.

Life seems full of joy. The doorbell rings. The husband enters the room.

Based on Schnitzler's play Liebelei, Sweet Nothings captures the power of sexual longing, the cruelty of tradition and the vulnerability of those in love.

Cast includes Hayley Carmichael (Told By An Idiot), Natalie Dormer (Anne Boleyn, The Tudors), Tom Hughes (upcoming films Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll and Cemetery Junction), Jack Laskey (As You Like It, The Globe), David Sibley (Cruel and Tender at Young Vic) and Andrew Wincott (The Archers).

"I write of love and death. What other subjects are there?"
Arthur Schnitzler.

A contemporary of Freud, Schnitzler was the chronicler of Vienna 1900. La Ronde still creates scandal, while Dream Story was the basis for Kubrick's mesmerising Eyes Wide Shut.

David Harrower's many plays include the Olivier Award-winning Blackbird.