Keira Knightley is set to make her return to the West End stage for the first time in 15 years, starring in a theatrical adaptation of the Oscar-winning German film The Lives of Others. The production, adapted and directed by Robert Icke with music by Max Richter, will open at the Adelphi Theatre in London this autumn.
Cast and Storyline
Knightley will portray an actor living in East Germany in 1984, who, along with her novelist partner played by Bridgerton's Luke Thompson, is placed under state surveillance. Stephen Dillane has been cast as the Stasi captain who monitors their relationship. The play is based on the 2006 film by writer-director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck.
Creative Team and Vision
Producer Sonia Friedman, continuing her successful collaboration with Icke after hits such as Oedipus, described the adaptation as an "unexpected" and "thrilling" take on the original story. She praised Icke's "rare ability to combine huge ideas with real emotional truth." The play, according to Friedman, unfolds in a time and place "where nothing is private, every word carries consequence, and the state holds power not just over lives, but over thought, speech and imagination itself." She added that it serves as "a reminder of how fragile those freedoms are, and of the cost and courage required to hold on to them."
Thematic Connections
The production revisits themes explored in Icke and Duncan Macmillan's adaptation of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four at the Almeida Theatre in 2014. Since then, Icke has become one of British theatre's most prominent directors, with recent works including a version of Romeo and Juliet that replays certain scenes to imagine alternative outcomes.
Production Details
The Lives of Others will be designed by Hildegard Bechtler and will run at the Adelphi Theatre from 14 October to 9 January. The venue previously housed Back to the Future: The Musical, which closed earlier this month and will begin a UK tour in October.
Knightley's Recent Work
Beyond her stage return, Knightley wrote and illustrated a children's book last year and is voicing Dolores Umbridge for a new series of Harry Potter audiobooks. Her previous West End appearances include The Misanthrope alongside Damian Lewis in 2009 and The Children's Hour with Elisabeth Moss in 2011. She made her Broadway debut in 2015 in the title role of Thérèse Raquin.
