Keira Knightley is no stranger to period dramas, appearing in Pride and Prejudice, Anna Karenina, The Duchess, and many more. Even the film she is Oscar campaigning for now, The Imitation Game, is a period drama. Well, she has just signed on for another. This time, it is an adaptation of Émile Zola‘s Thérèse Raquin. The catch is this adaptation is not on film. No, Knightley will be making her Broadway debut in a new stage version by British playwright Helen Edmundson.
I am an unapologetic Keira Knightley fan. I think she has delivered some very impressive performances, particularly in Never Let Me Go and A Dangerous Method, and am curious to see how she fares as a stage actor. She has done a couple of productions in the West End, but with living in America and travel being expensive, I have not gotten to see them. She does have a very expressive, open face, so I could certainly see her playing well to a large crowd.
This production is being put up by the Roundabout Theatre Company, who have a pretty sound track record when it comes to the plays they put up. They currently have Cabaret up at Studio 54, where Emma Stone is about to make her debut, and The Real Thing, starring Ewan McGregor, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Cynthia Nixon, which is set to open on October 30th.
This play will open Roundabout’s 50th season and will be directed by Evan Cabnet, with previews starting October 1, 2015 and opening night on October 29, 2015. No other cast or creative team have been announced and neither has a theater. I hope I get the chance to head up to New York to see the show.
Original report from The Hollywood Reporter.
