Roy has just been honoured by The Queen in the New Year's Honours list and he is now set to revive his role of John Aubrey prior to a West End run.

Emmy and Tony award winner Dotrice is once more directed by the play's writer, Patrick Garland, who shared the success of the record-breaking original production, which was proclaimed as one of the greatest performances in the history of theatre.

In 1967, Brief Lives, opened at the Hampstead Theatre Club in London and on the second night it was bought by a New York producer and subsequently opened on Broadway.

In 1968, it opened at The Criterion Theatre where it played for 400 performances before moving to the Mayfair Theatre.

Roy Dotrice's now legendary performance of John Aubrey smashed box office records in the UK, USA and earned him a place in the Guiness Book of Records for the greatest number of solo performances (1,782).

John Aubrey, reclusive antiquarian, takes you on a nostalgic journey through history and gives his unique take on days gone by - including all the bits the history books missed out.

No one is spared in this stupendous series of anecdotes about the personalities of his time. Oliver Cromwell, William Shakespeare, Sir Walter Raleigh and even the Virgin Queen herself are not exempt from Aubrey's hysterical gossip.

Patrick Garland's triumphant adaptation of the Memoirs, Miscellanies, Letter and Jottings of John Aubrey paint a portrait of the time and the inspired use of true theatricality makes this production a must-see.

Brief Lives runs at Theatre Royal Brighton from Monday 18 to Saturday, February 23. Book online at www.theamassadors.com or call on 08700 606 650.