Fringe to host premiÿre of Berkoff's 9/11 epic

The actor Steven Berkoff will stage the world première of his epic poem about 11 September at the Edinburgh Fringe – months after he accused the US authorities of hysteria in their reaction to the terrorist attacks.

The British actor, who has achieved worldwide acclaim for his film and theatre performances, but is known almost as much for his fierce temper, will open with his one-man drama, entitled Requiem to Ground Zero, on 14 August. The 70-minute performance piece was written by the actor shortly after the World Trade Centre attacks but has not been performed.

Berkoff has been rehearsing the production for the past few weeks. However, he decided to bring it to the Fringe last week, when the Assembly Rooms theatre invited him to take over from the American comic Michael Moore, who was forced to withdraw his satire on the terrorist attacks for personal reasons. Mary Shields, the theatre's associate director, said: "Steven is one of the few people we could book at the last minute and still expect full houses."

Berkoff's interpretation of the twin towers attacks brings to nine the number of productions about 9/11, comic and dramatic, at the Fringe this month. The Hollywood actors Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins are appearing at the city's Lyceum Theatre to perform The Guys, a true story about a firefighter composing eulogies for colleagues after the attacks.

Ironically, Berkoff's intended première of his show was to have been in America, on the anniversary of the attacks next month.

However, the actor, a frequent visitor to the US, was detained by immigration officials in June because he had overstayed his visa for an extra day in 1997. As a result, he was forced to cancel his one-man show Shakespeare's Villains and will première the 11 September tribute in the UK.