Judith: A Parting from the Body, Omnibus Theatre

Since it premiered in 1992, Howard Barker's powerful one-act play Judith: A Parting from the Body has become a fringe theatre favourite.

Reviewers have hailed the re-telling of the apocryphal legend 'dynamic, intensely-imagined and chilling' and it was described as 'one of the best things on the London stage' when revived at the Arcola Theatre in 2015.

Now, the show returns to London for strictly limited run at Clapham's Omnibus Theatre ahead of a national tour. Catherine Cusack (Coronation Street, Dr Who) plays the titular Judith.

The play is based on the Old Testament story of a bold widow who uses her beauty to seduce Holofernes, the head of the invading army, before brutally beheading him. But Barker goes beyond the legend in a radical retelling that delves into human nature and invites us to consider the sacrifices involved in survival.