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Monday
12Oct2009

Keira Performing Molière on the London Stage

DateMonday, October 12, 2009 at 3:02AM
I always give Keira Knightley credit for doing more than she has to and taking the kind of risks that a woman who looks that good really doesn't need to take. Sure, the Pirates movies built her stardom, but she's also picked up an Oscar nomination in the past six years (Pride and Prejudice), was quite good in Atonement, and has done a lot of left-of-center stuff when she could have played it safe and gone for romantic comedies.

Now Knightley will undertake another first: Appearing on stage in London's West End. It's a rite of passage for most actors and actresses from the UK, really, and though she's done plenty of period pieces in the past, her new production of Molière's The Misanthrope will be a contemporary adaptation.

Stage acting is not the same as film acting, and while I don't know if Knightley has any amateur theatre in her background, I'm sure she probably does because her mother is a playwright. Still, the spotlight's sure to be on her now but I'm sure she'll do fine when the play opens on December 7th.

Knightley was linked to one of the more ambitious Shakespearean film adaptations in recent years. It was King Lear with Anthony Hopkins, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Naomi Watts. Somehow, that production fell apart, although I'd like to see them pick that back up. In the meantime, Knightley didn't have a big movie this year, but she has four on the radar for 2010, including Never Let Me Go for director Mark Romanek and The Beautiful and the Damned, in which she'll play Zelda Fitzgerald.

AuthorColin Boyd | | in | Print ArticlePrint Article | | Comment2 Comments |

Reader Comments (2)

I agree. Keira could have been famous and filmed those romantic comedies that don't require a lot of acting skill. Instead, she's taken difficult role after difficult role in the last five years and done very well in terms of building her reputation as an actress. She really didn't have to do any of that and would have been quite successful without proving that she is a good actress, but I give her props for going the serious acting route.

I know this play and the character she'll portray is a challenging acting part, but a very good one. Plus, it's satirical comedy, so it will be good she'll be working in a comedic play. Props for her, she definitely doesn't take the easy road in her career.

Monday, October 12, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterAline

I can't wait to see this version of Moliere's classic. The cast is incredible - really exciting. I have my tickets booked already. -

Thursday, October 15, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterMary Green

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