Keira Knightley, Luke Thompson and Stephen Dillane will be joined by thirteen more actors in the world premiere of Robert Icke’s stage adaptation of The Lives of Others. The play opens at London’s Adelphi Theatre this October.

The Lives of Others, adapted and directed by Robert Icke from Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s 2006 German film, will open at the Adelphi Theatre on 29 October, with previews starting on 14 October. The production is set to run until 9 January 2027.

Joining Knightley, Thompson and Dillane are Jamie Ankrah, Jake Benson, Matt Ray Brown, Lucy Doyle, Calum Finlay, Josh Gordon, Paul Higgins, Leda Hodgson, Nick Holder, Sibylla Meienberg, Irfan Shamji, Richard Sutton and Andrew Woodall, completing the company of sixteen performers.

Set in 1984 East Germany, the story focuses on a writer and an actor placed under state surveillance by the Stasi secret police. The narrative explores how the officer monitoring their conversations becomes increasingly entwined in the subjects’ lives.

This world premiere marks Icke’s first stage adaptation of Henckel von Donnersmarck’s acclaimed espionage thriller, originally told through the German-language film that won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.

The production combines the tense atmosphere of Cold War surveillance with a character-driven exploration of privacy, control and human connection under authoritarian scrutiny.

The casting of such distinguished actors as Knightley and Dillane, alongside emerging talent, suggests a layered approach to the complex roles within this politically charged narrative.

With previews beginning mid-October, the production will add a contemporary British theatre voice to a story resonant with ongoing concerns about surveillance and state power.