Keira Knightley describes surveillance staging for The Lives of Others
Knightley and Luke Thompson have described how Robert Icke’s stage adaptation uses a revolving stage and video ahead of its West End opening.
Keira Knightley and Luke Thompson described the surveillance-themed staging of Robert Icke’s The Lives of Others in a Guardian interview published on 13 October 2026, ahead of the play’s scheduled opening at London’s Adelphi Theatre on 14 October. Knightley said rehearsals involved a revolving stage; Thompson said video was used because surveillance is central to the story.
How The Lives of Others depicts surveillance
Thompson described the production in rehearsal as a technical, continuous sequence. Knightley also recalled her own experience of phone hacking, saying stories and photographs appeared and that she could see she was being followed. Her account of those incidents is her recollection in the interview.
Icke’s adaptation is based on Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s film, set in 1984 East Germany. The official production site lists Knightley, Thompson and Stephen Dillane in the cast. Their casting and Icke’s role as adapter and director were announced in April; the Guardian reported then that the run was due to continue through 9 January 2027.
Sources and context
- ‘I knew I was being followed’: Keira Knightley on her hacking nightmare – and new Stasi spy play The Lives of OthersThe Guardian
- The Lives of OthersThe Lives of Others official production site
- Keira Knightley returns to West End in adaptation of Oscar winner The Lives of OthersThe Guardian
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