Vanessa Redgrave and James Earl Jones, who had a hit run on Broadway this season in Driving Miss Daisy, will perform the play on the London stage this autumn. The two stars will rehearse in London and begin performances at Wyndham’s Theatre on September 26 for a limited run through to December 17 — although Mr Jones, 80, hinted those dates might be flexible. The play continued beyond its initial three-month engagement on Broadway and recouped its investment in just a few weeks.

Driving Miss Daisy, written by Alfred Uhry, started life Off-Broadway in 1987 and became an Oscar-winning picture starring Jessica Tandy and Morgan Freeman, who had been in the original stage production.

Set against the backdrop of the civil rights struggle, it’s the story of Daisy Werthan, a wealthy Southern Jewish woman, and Hoke Colburn, her illiterate chauffeur, and how, over a number of years, they grow to depend on each other.