Hollywood star coming to Wales in stage play

A thrilling masterpiece of murder, deceit, and mystery, one of the greatest crime novels of the 20th Century comes to the stage in Wales next week.

Hollywood star Mischa Barton is to make her UK stage debut in a new version of James M Cain’s crime novel Double Indemnity. The actor, best known for the 00s TV series The OC, will take on the role played by Barbara Stanwyck in the 1944 film noir adaptation.

Los Angeles, 1930’s. Amidst the wreckage of the Great Depression, Walter Huff, a sharp-eyed insurance salesman, has built his career spotting scams. But when he meets the dangerously seductive Phyllis Nirdlinger (Barton) to discuss her husband’s life insurance policy, he finds himself drawn into a web of lust, greed, and betrayal. Together they plot the perfect crime: murder the husband, cash in the policy, and disappear into the Californian sunset.

But passion can cloud judgement, and guilt can corrode the most perfect of plans. With each step increasingly risky, and as mistrust simmers, will Walter and Phyllis outsmart the law – or each other?

James M. Cain’s gripping novel is adapted for the stage by Tom Holloway and directed by Oscar Toeman.

Barton described Double Indemnity as a “gripping tale of deceit, tension and suspense”. Her character, Phyllis, concocts a scheme with a salesman to murder her husband and make it look like an accident, in order to cash in on the eponymous clause in his life insurance policy.

The adaptation is by Australian playwright Tom Holloway. It opened at Devonshire Park theatre in Eastbourne on 5 February and will end its run at the New Theatre in Cardiff next week.

Barton, born in London, appeared on stage in New York in the 1990s before finding fame as the Orange County high-school student Marissa Cooper in The OC, which ran from 2003 to 2007.

She appeared in an Irish stage production of Steel Magnolias at the Gaiety in Dublin and on tour in 2012, but this will be her first time in the UK.

Cast and Production Details
Starring: Mischa Barton (best known for The O.C.) as Phyllis Nirdlinger and Ciarán Owens as Walter Huff.
Supporting Cast: Includes Martin Marquez as Keyes and Sophia Roberts as Lola Nirdlinger.
Production Style: A stylish, atmospheric night of suspense inspired by the golden age of film noir, featuring a “towering house of cards” set design that captures the precarious nature of the characters’ scheme.

Double Indemnity
New Theatre, Cardiff
Tue 5 – Sat 9 May 2026

Get tickets HERE