First look rehearsal images have been released for Robert Icke’s upcoming stage adaptation of The Lives of Others, which opens at the Adelphi Theatre this autumn.
The newly unveiled photographs offer an early look at Academy Award nominee Keira Knightley, Emmy Award winner Stephen Dillane and Olivier Award nominee Luke Thompson as they prepare to bring Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s acclaimed film to the West End stage.
Adapted and directed by Olivier Award-winner Robert Icke, the production marks the world premiere of the first stage version of the Oscar-winning 2006 film. It begins previews at the Adelphi Theatre on 14 October, ahead of an official opening night on 29 October, and runs until 9 January 2027.
Set in East Germany in 1984, The Lives of Others follows a writer and an actor placed under state surveillance. From an attic above their apartment, a Stasi officer listens for evidence of subversion, only to find his own perspective transformed by the lives he observes.
Knightley stars as Christa-Maria Sieland, alongside Dillane as Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler and Thompson as Georg Dreyman.
The production also features Jamie Ankrah, Jake Benson, Matt Ray Brown, Lucy Doyle, Calum Finlay, Josh Gordon, Paul Higgins, Leda Hodgson, Nick Holder, Sibylla Meienberg, Irfan Shamji, Richard Sutton and Andrew Woodall.
Icke reunites with producer Sonia Friedman following collaborations including Oedipus, Manhunt, Hamlet, The Doctor, Oresteia and 1984.
The creative team includes set and costume designer Hildegard Bechtler, lighting designer Jon Clark, sound designer Giles Thomas, video designer Tal Yarden, and original music by Max Richter, with casting by Julia Horan CDG.
Described as an exploration of artistic censorship, state surveillance and the relationship between art and politics, the production brings one of modern cinema’s most celebrated stories to the stage for the first time.
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
