Waiting until you’re 24 and you’ve got a successful Hollywood film career under your belt isn’t exactly the usual story of an actress’ build up to a West End debut, but Keira Knightley did just that in 2009 when she took to the stage for the first time in a revival of Molière’s The Misanthrope at the Comedy Theatre. Fitting the play in between filming for The Dutchess and London Boulevard, she managed to make her stage debut work well enough to pick up a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role.
Written originally as a satire on the hypocrisies of the French aristocratic society, Martin Crimp’s version transported the play from Paris to modern day London, while still managing to retain an element of the satirical nature of the original. In the modern-day adaptation, story’s protagonist Alceste is a well known British playwright who’s anger and frustrations at the absurd nature of contemporary notions of celebrity clash with his heart when he falls in love with Jennifer, an American movie star and big hit in the London luvvy social scene, making him as much a target of his own criticism as the rest of the society.
Starring alongside Damien Lewis (Band of Brothers), who played Alceste, Knightley takes on the role of Jennifer, providing the Hollywood actress with a part that’s very close to home. The adaptation of the 17th Century comedy of manners also starred Tara Fitzgerald as Marcia, Dominic Rowan as John, Tim McMullen as drama critic Covington, Nicholas Le Provost as Alexander, Kelly Price as Ellen and Chuk Iwuji as Julian.
Despite appearing in big budget US box office smashes like Pirates of the Caribbean and being nominated for Oscars, Golden Globes and BAFTAs, Knightley is reported to have had serious butterflies at the thought of performing live on the West End. According to an interview in The Times she was “freaked out” by one of Thea Sharrock’s (the play’s director) acting sessions, but that didn’t stop her going on to pick up the Olivier Award nomination. The play also picked up nominations for Best Revival for the director and Best Costume Design for Amy Roberts.
The Misanthrope (or Le Misanthrope ou l’Atrabilaire Amoureux as I like to call it… Yeah, believe it!) opened on Thursday 17th December at London’s Comedy Theatre and ran all the way through to March 13th.
