WHEN actress Janet McTeer comes to Malvern Theatre this month, she won't be treating it with any less importance than the national stages she's become accustomed to.

The Olivier and Tony award winner will appear in The National Theatre's new staging of Webster's dark tragedy, The Duchess of Malfi, from Tuesday, March 25.

"The size of the stage or the theatre makes no difference - you're doing it for the audience, whether it's a national theatre or not," she said.

Her role as the duchess has been a challenge. "It's a huge role, a classical role and you have to be so many things at once - sexy, motherly, courageous," she said. "Peggy Ashcroft, who once played the character, said nobody could ever do it justice, and I think she's right."

The play is a modern take on Webster's shocking and violent story of a widow's refusal to obey her brothers' command never to remarry.

She enters into a secret marriage but faces torture and death when a spy in the household uncovers the truth.

"This production is quite modern but not up-to-date," she said. "It's accessible and raw. The family drama is made more moving because it's a simple set and the emphasis is all on the characters, which puts more pressure on me!"

It's a long way from serving coffee in York Theatre, where she realised actors were her kind of people and made stage work her ambition.

Since then she has appeared on film, in The Intended, Waking the Dead and Tumbleweeds, an American indie film for which she won a Golden Globe.

Her television credits include Portrait of a Marriage, Yellowbacks and most notably, the popular ITV series The Governor.

But she has always preferred stage to television or film, simply for the opportunity to perform live to an audience.

Her Olivier and Tony awards for her role as Nora in Ibsen's A Doll's House and her extensive list of stage credits have built her a glowing reputation as one of the country's finest classical actors.

But the reputation of the Malvern Hills has preceded her first visit to the town. "I'm looking forward to it, I'll be bringing my walking boots with me!" she said.

The Duchess of Malfi runs at the Malvern Theatre from Tuesday March 25 to Saturday March 29. For tickets contact the box office on 01684 892277.