KEIRA KNIGHTLEY RETURNS TO THE WEST END

Posted on 22 October 2010

Ian Rickson will direct Keira Knightley and Elisabeth Moss in Lillian Hellman’s The Children’s Hour due to open in the West End early next year.  Actors' schedules, full casting, production information, and performance schedule will be announced shortly. Tickets for The Children’s Hour will be on sale soon.

When a troubled teenager starts to spin a web of deceit, all around her are soon caught up in it.  Karen Wright (Keira Knightley) and Martha Dobie (Elisabeth Moss) have worked for years to establish their all-girls boarding school, and now, with the school flourishing and Karen on the verge of marriage, their lives and loves finally appear secure. However, when malicious student Mary runs away from the school and seeks to avoid being sent back, she draws on hearsay, gossip, and her own imagination, to concoct a story that threatens the school, the marriage, and their entire futures.

Keira Knightley came to international prominence in 2003 after starring in the films Bend It Like Beckham and Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy. For her role as Elizabeth Bennet in Joe Wright’s adaptation of Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice she earned nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress and Golden Globe Award for the Best Actress. Her film credits include Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Love Actually, King Arthur, critically acclaimed Domino, The Duchess, Atonement, The Edge of Love. Keira Knightley made her West End debut in The Misanthrope at the Comedy Theatre which earned her nomination for Laurence Olivier Theatre Award. Her television credits include the critically acclaimed remake of Doctor Zhivago, Oliver and Coming Home.

Keira Knightley will be co-starred by Elisabeth Moss which will make her West End debut inThe Children’s Hour. She is best known for playing Peggy Olson in the award-winning TV series Mad Men for which she has been awarded by Emmy Award. Her film credits include Get Him to the Greek, Did you Hear About the Morgans? and Girl, Interrupted.  

Play will be directed by Ian Rickson (The Winterling, Jerusalem, Hedda Gabler, The Weir, Mojo).