Crime novelist Patricia Highsmith, best-known for her psychological thrillers (Strangers on a Train, The Talented Mr. Ripley), is the inspiration behind a new play by Australian playwright Joanna Murray-Smith. The stage thriller, Switzerland, pits Highsmith in a game of cat and mouse against a young man who has come to visit her in the Swiss Alps.

The New York premiere is directed by Dan Foster and will begin performances April 20 in the Whippoorwill Theatre at North Castle Public Library in a production from Hudson Stage Company. Performances are scheduled through May 5. Click here for tickets.

Peggy J. Scott is starring as Highsmith, alongside Daniel Petzold.

The production features set design by James Fenton, lighting by Andrew Gmoser, costumes by Charlotte Palmer-Lane, original music and sound design by Garrett Hood, and fight choreography by Jared Kirby. Helen Irene Muller is the stage manager, and Denise Bessette and Olivia Sklar are executive producers.

Switzerland was commissioned by Los Angeles’ Geffen Playhouse and received its world premiere at Sydney Theatre Company in 2014. Murray-Smith's other plays include Bombshells, The Female of the Species, and Honour.