Pulitzer-winning playwright David Mamet has a new play titled “Bitter Wheat,” and he’s enlisted John Malkovich to portray a “depraved” Harvey Weinstein-like Hollywood mogul.
“Bitter Wheat” will be staged at the Garrick Theater in London’s West End from June 7 and Sept. 14, with the official opening night on June 19.
Mamet’s play is a response to the #MeToo movement and the accusations of sexual assault made against Weinstein. Malkovich will play Barney Fein, who falls from power to shame in a journey that mimics that of the epic “The Odyssey.”
“Hollywood is a hell hole, where bloated monsters devour the young,” a teaser trailer for the play reads. “Money, sex, power. You only need one of them to see ‘Bitter Wheat.’”
Malkovich is returning to the West End stage for the first time in over 30 years. He most recently starred in the Netflix film “Bird Box.”
“Bitter Wheat” also stars Doon Mackichan and Ioanna Kimbrook, who makes her West End debut.
Mamet first revealed he was writing a play about Weinstein back in February 2018. “I have a bunch of daughters, a young son,” he said in an interview with the Chicago Tribune. “Every society has to confront the ungovernable genie of sexuality and tries various ways to deal with it and none of them work very well. There is great difficulty when you are switching modes, which we seem to be doing now. People go crazy. They start tearing each other to bits.”
Mamet also previously wrote the play “Oleanna” about sexual assault and power dynamics in the wake of Anita Hill’s accusations against Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
Mamet will also direct “Bitter Wheat” with a design by Christopher Oram and lighting by Neil Austin.
Watch a brief teaser for the production above.