British screen actress Joely Richardson will take on a role previously filled by her mother and her sister when she appears in Norwegian playwright Ibsen’s The Lady from the Sea next week.

The 47-actress is acclaimed in her own right for roles in shows such US TV series Nip/Tuck and The Tudors.

She played a central role in Scandinavian saga The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo with James Bond actor Daniel Craig and will next appear on film alongside Robert De Niro and Sigourney Weaver.

But as the latest in a line of one of the most well-known theatrical families – her mother is Vanessa Redgrave, her late sister Natasha Richardson and her brother-in-law Liam Neeson – comparisons are inevitable.

The play itself was written in 1888 by Ibsen and tells the symbolic tale of Ellida, a lighthouse keeper’s daughter, who lives by a fjord and has to decide whether to stay on dry land with her husband or answer the call of the sea.

Director Stephen Unwin, who will direct an Ibsen play for the fifth time, said: "It gives me huge pleasure to stage Ibsen’s elusive masterpiece at the Rose, and I’m doubly delighted that Joely Richardson has decided to mark her return to the British stage with this collaboration."

Lady From The Sea, Rose Theatre, High Street, Kingston, Friday, February 23, to Saturday, March 17. 7.30pm. £8 to £30. Call 08444 821 556 or visit rosetheatrekingston.org