FATHER and son - actors James and Jack Fox - will be starring together on a Worcestershire stage later this month.

They’ll be at Malvern’s Festival Theatre in a brand new adaptation of the best-selling Sunday Times Humour Book of the Year - Dear Lupin, Letters to a Wayward Son in which renowned journalist and author Roger Mortimer’s brilliantly hilarious, often touching and always generous letters to his unruly son Charlie are vividly brought to life.

Adapted by celebrated writer and journalist, Michael Simkins, this endearing new comedy reveals fresh, previously unknown stories of Charlie’s life and his relationship with his father.

The Daily Mail on Dear Lupin, Letters to a Wayward Son, said: “By turns, affectionate, touching and wry, Dear Lupin brims with a father’s love for his son. An absolute delight”, while the Guardian commented: "Brilliantly written, they could offer a money back guarantee if you don’t laugh.”

The production will appear at Malvern’s Festival Theatre from Monday, May 11 to Saturday, May 16, 2015 as part of a six week tour prior to a West End run.

Charlie Mortimer says: “To have Fox father and son playing Mortimer father and son is a coup beyond my wildest dreams.

While James Fox added: “It’s about a geriatric old Etonian hack and long suffering father, which ticks all the boxes for me.”

A two time BAFTA award-winning actor James Fox plays Roger Mortimer. His film, television and theatre work is long and memorable.

On stage it includes Resurrection Blues (Old Vic), Uncle Vanya (New York Square Theatre) and Afternoon Men (Arts Club Theatre). For television, his work includes 1864, Death In Paradise, Downtown Abbey, Unknown Heart, The Great Train Robbery – A Coppers Tale, Utopia, Merlin, Red Riding, Margaret, Suez, The Old Curiosity Shop, The Choir, Gulliver’s Kingdom and A Question Of Attribution.

As for his extensive film credits these include A Long Way From Home, The Double, Effie Gray, Clean Skin, The Kid, Sherlock Holmes, Mr Lonely, The Prince and Me, Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, The Golden Bowl, Sexy Beast, Micky Blue Eyes, Remains of The Day, Patriot Games, The Russia House, Farewell to The King, The Whistle Blower, Absolute Beginners, A Passage to India, Greystoke, Performance, Thoroughly Modern Millie, King Rat, Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines, and The Servant.

Jack Fox said, on working with his father: “It’s brilliant to see dad return to the stage, and for me, not just as his son, but as an actor it’s a huge privilege to learn from him. People assume as an actor you start as a fully finished article, but that couldn’t be further from the truth – it’s an honour to work with him. I hope the rapport we share in life will translate to the stage.”

Jack plays Charlie Mortimer / Lupin and his theatre credits include The Picture of Dorian Gray (Riverside Studios). For television, his credits include Our Zoo, Mr Selfridge, Dracula, Privates, Fresh Meat, Lewis and Henry VIII: Mind Of A Tyrant; and for film, London Underground, The Messenger, Blood Moon, Kids in Love and Theeb.

Michael Simkins says: “Adapting Dear Lupin was an opportunity nobody with my particular humorous sensibilities could turn down, as it’s a comic masterpiece, entirely in the long tradition of great humorous English writers I grew up with and whose writing influenced my own style hugely - I’m talking of Jerome K Jerome, George & Weedon Grossmith (Diary of a Nobody - including of course Lupin), PG Wodehouse, Michael Green, Evelyn Waugh , Keith Waterhouse, right up to Bill Bryson.

“This book - and the play - is the natural successor to these illustrious authors. Writing dialogue and constructing an evening of drama are all new skills for me, and while it’s been a long gestation, I’ve enjoyed the challenge enormously. I have far greater respect for dramatists as a result!”

Actor and writer Simkins’ books include What’s My Motivation?, Fatty Batter, Detour de France and The Rules of Acting and Dear Lupin marks his playwriting debut.

The play is directed by Philip Franks who will be well known for his roles in the hugely popular British television series The Darling Buds of May and Heartbeat.