THE Everyman is celebrating a coup after securing Henry IV for a July mini-run. This is not The Bard's Henry - but the "other one" by the 20th century Italian playwright Luigi Pirandello which has as much to do with Shakespeare's as Macbeth had to do with bloodstain removers. The theatre is one of only two others chosen for the first tour by the acclaimed Donmar Warehouse in a production translated and adapted by Tom Stoppard. It won rave reviews when it opened with Ian McDiarmid and Francesca Annis in London in May. Both have been retained for the national tour and are relishing returning to Liverpool, a city they have performed in before but never at the Everyman. "It's a very famous theatre which I'm really looking forward to playing," says Ian, who last appeared in the city in Alan Ayckbourne's Relatively Speaking at the Playhouse. His list of stage and screen credits are many. He is something of a cult hero among Star Wars fans having played the evil Emperor in Return of the Jedi and Senator Palpatine, his previous incarnation in the film's prequels, The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. Unlike some thespians - Sir Alec Guinness chief among them - he is not offended about being reminded of this association with The Force. "It's a great thing to be part of something that's been such a worldwide success," he says amiably. Closer to home he also played Dr Popper in Jimmy McGovern's Hillsborough a part which he maintains was a memorable and moving experience in what he believes was an excellently written work of docu-drama. In this latest production he plays the title role, an Italian nobleman who falls from his horse during a pageant. When he comes round he believes he is the medieval German emperor King Henry IV. For 20 years he lives with this illusion but then a plot is hatched to shock him out of his madness and back into the 21st century. "It's a great story with lots of little twists and surprises," he explains. "It may seem at first to be quite complicated but really it's all quite literal and in the end makes absolute sense. It raises the question of whether he is mad or just putting it on. It always poses other questions about acting and about who we really are." He is full of praise for his old friend Michael Grandage, the Donmar's artistic director, who acted on his advice to choose the play for the Warehouse. Grandage then made the audacious decision to approach Stoppard to translate and adapt the play. The world renowned playwright jumped at the chance. McDiarmid says: "He's such a wonderful writer - witty, sharp and dextrous." He's also enjoying playing opposite Annis, who plays Henry's love Matilda in the play. He first worked with her when she played Juliet at the Royal Shakespeare Company and is now close friends with both her and her partner, the actor Ralph Fiennes. Francesca, who has just completed filming The Libertine in which she plays Johnny Depp's mother, returns the compliments. "Ian's a great guy to work with, " says Annis, who is currently in Manchester where it is being performed at The Quays. "Of course it helps that we do know each other for parts such as these and Ian's good because he doesn't change and become all egotistical when you're acting with him." Francesca maintains the play - which was received "fantastically well" in the capital and which has many facets, being both a tragic comedy and a tale of unrequited love - "always leaves people with a lot to say afterwards." She is also looking forward to making her debut at the Everyman. "I've been told that it will be the most different of the theatres in terms of the size of the stage and the like we will be playing in for this production. There will have to be more compromises and it's a challenge - but I like challenges." She likes Liverpool too. She was here for the filming of Parnell and the Englishwoman, a four part mini-series in which she played opposite Trevor Eve's title role in 1990. "Liverpool really is unique to England and I love it. The people are really feisty - especially the women." She adds with a laugh: "I love feisty women!" | 
