He announces that he is to travel abroad on a diplomatic mission and appoints the hardline Angelo in his place, while remaining in the city in disguise to keep a curious and watchful eye.

When Angelo sentences the brother of a novice nun, Isabella, to death for a sexual indiscretion, she approaches Angelo to plead for his life. What follows is a series of shocking revelations, blackmail, sexual scandal and political intrigue.

The cast includes Olivier Award-winner Rory Kinnear - Burnt by the Sun, Philistines, The Man of Mode (National Theatre), Festen (Almeida), Mary Stuart (Donmar), Margaret Thatcher: The Long Road to Finchley (BBC); BAFTA-winner Anna Maxwell Martin - Poppy Shakespeare (ITV), Cabaret (West End), Bleak House (BBC); and Ben Miles Coupling (BBC), Richard II and The Norman Conquests (Old Vic).

Michael Attenborough, a former Principal Associate Director of the RSC, directs his first Shakespeare production as Artistic Director of the Almeida Theatre.