Keira Knightley, Luke Thompson, and Stephen Dillane to star in THE LIVES OF OTHERS stage adaptation

Based on the 2006 critically acclaimed German film, The Lives of Others is a psychological surveillance thriller set in East Berlin in 1984, during the height of the Cold War. Gerd Wiesler is a senior agent of the Stasi, the East German secret police, conducting surveillance on the residents of the city. But when he begins spying on playwright Georg Dreyman and his girlfriend, actress Christa-Maria Sieland, he becomes disillusioned by the corrupt system in which he operates, and begins secretly protecting the pair, even hiding evidence of Dreyman's dissent against the state.

Produced by Sonia Friedman (Paddington the Musical, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) and Winkler & Smallberg, this brand-new stage play will be directed by Robert Icke (Romeo & Juliet, Oedipus), who collaborated with Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, the writer and director of the original film, to adapt it for the stage.

Keira Knightley returns to the West End after fifteen years to play Christa-Maria Sieland. Knightley is best known for screen roles in Atonement, Pride & Prejudice, and the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, and has appeared onstage in The Misanthrope and The Children's Hour. Georg Dreyman will be played by Luke Thompson, best known for Bridgerton, whose stage work includes A Little Life, King Lear, Hamlet, and Oresteia. Gerd Wiesler will be played by Stephen Dillane, who has appeared onscreen in Game of Thrones and The Crown, and onstage in The Real Thing, When We Have Sufficiently Tortured Each Other, Endgame, and A Long Day’s Journey Into Night.

Also in the creative team are designer Hildegard Bechtler, lighting designer Jon Clark and sound designer Giles Thomas, with original music by Max Richter.

The Lives of Others will play at the West End’s Adelphi Theatre from 14 October 2026 to 9 January 2027.

The Lives of Others Tickets