The award winning American Jewish writer David Mamet is to première his latest play in the West End this autumn.

Set in a prison, The Anarchist tells the story of a female activist's fight with a prison governor to have her life sentence reduced.

The producer, Matthew Byam Shaw, called it "a fascinating sword-fight", suggesting it would remain true to the format of many of Mr Mamet's two-character plays.

Mr Mamet, who won a Pulitzer Prize in 1984 for his play Glengarry Glen Ross, is one of the most prolific and critically acclaimed playwrights working today.

His stage work includes Speed-the-Plow and American Buffalo, and he was nominated for an Oscar for the films The Verdict and Wag the Dog. He is also working on a new film version of the diary of Anne Frank.

In 1997 Mr Mamet's book on the lynching of Leo Frank by Klu Klux Klan members was published. He has also written a book about the Torah and another analysing Jewish self-hatred and antisemitism.

The Anarchist will be the third of Mr Mamet's plays to receive its debut in London.