Toby's emotional debut for classic Stoppard play

Toby Stephens is to make an emotional debut at the theatre where his parents -Robert Stephens and Maggie Smith - performed as part of Laurence Olivier's original National Theatre company.

The star of James Bond and the Royal Shakespeare Company will appear at the Old Vic in the first production in a decade of The Real Thing, Tom Stoppard's award-winning play. Stephens, 40, takes the role of Henry, a playwright whose marriage proves vulnerable when he falls for actress Annie.

The play is widely considered Stoppard's most moving. His agent once said he assumed it was based on Stoppard's marriage to Miriam. The premiere starred Felicity Kendal - who later became Stoppard's partner.

Stephens, who is married to actress Anna-Louise Plowman with two children, said: "It's quite moving for me to do something there. It means it has an added fascination. It was an historic place but I never saw anything when [my parents] were there, which is really sad, because I was just born. I'm a huge admirer of Stoppard's work."

Tickets go on sale today. The show, directed by Anna Mackmin, opens on 10 April.