In 1930s Germany, a woman puts on her dead husband’s trousers and never takes them off. As the world around her changes, she endures war and dictatorship, hunger and humiliation – always fighting to stay alive.

Forty years after she first brought the role to life, Tilda Swinton makes a long-awaited return to stage as Ella/Max in Manfred Karge’s Man to Man – the role she originated in the acclaimed UK premiere at the Traverse Theatre, which first commissioned the original production in 1987 before it transferred in 1988 to the Royal Court.