American Buffalo

Damian Lewis returns to the West End

"Homeland" actor, OBE recipient and Golden Globe winner Damian Lewis returns to the West End to star in David Mamet's dark comedy, American Buffalo. The play - which saw its premiere in 1975 in Chicago - is about three small-fry thieves whose friendship and loyalty is put to the test when a heist they've planned starts to go very wrong.

Directed by Daniel Evans, American Buffalo will mark Lewis' first West End stage appearance since 2010 when he starred opposite Keira Knightley in The Misanthrope. Director and star, Evans and Lewis, are well acquainted in fact, having studied together at the prestigious Guildhall drama school in London.

What is American Buffalo about?

Three small-time crooks - Donny, Walter 'Teach' Cole and Bobby - find their luck changes for the worse when a robbery they've planned starts to go horribly wrong. In a classic 'comedy of errors', their loyalties, friendship and business allegiances are put to the test as they pursue an elusive (and potentially very valuable) American buffalo nickel which junk-shop owner Don has mistakenly sold to a customer.

Despite the play's often very crude language and singular setting (the junk shop owned by Don), it won several awards in the 1970s and was nominated for two Tonys. In 1996, American Buffalo was made into a feature film starring Dustin Hoffman and Dennis Franz.

Did you know?

Buffalo nickels were issued into US currency between 1913 and 1938. With a value of five cents at the time, the coins are now worth considerably more due to their rarity and several technical and bureaucratic issues surrounding the coins' creation.