Orlando Bloom returns to the West End

Gird your loins, elfin Hollywood heartthrob Orlando Bloom returns home to star in this new revival of Tracey Letts' explosive 1993 thriller as the titular Joe, a crooked policeman, and part killer-for-hire. A world away from Middle Earth or the Pirate-y waters of the Caribbean, Killer Joe is a simmering Texas set exploration of a dysfunctional family with murder on their mind.

Often referred to as an example of Southern Gothic, it was the first play by the award-winning Letts. A darkly comic portrait of the desperate Smith family and their twisted lives among the shattered ruins of the American Dream, it's violent, energetic, disturbing and completely unmissable.

Orlando Bloom first stole hearts and minds as the impossibly pure elf Legolas in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings Trilogy, with his piercing blue eyes (contacts!) and silken weave launching a thousand ships of crushes worldwide. Since then he's starred many more movies, including the Pirates of the Carribean franchise. He made his Broadway stage debut as Romeo in Romeo and Juliet in August 2013, winning good reviews for his performance. On 'Joe he commented 'It's an incredible, adrenaline-fueled piece of writing, with a dark and gritty character to play It's very different from many of the film roles I'm most recognised for.' You have been warned.

What is Killer Joe about?

In the stifling heat of a Texas trailer park, the Smith family rage at one another. When Chris, the drug dealing son finds himself with a huge debt, he and his father hatch a plot to kill his mother and collect the life insurance. When they hire local crooked cop Joe to carry out the murder, they are trapped when he demands the money upfront. Unable to pay, Joe takes a 'retainer' in the form of Dottie, the Smith's wide-eyed youngest daughter, opening a can of worms that will change their lives forever.