Review: THE LIVES OF OTHERS, Starring Keira Knightly, Stephen Dillane & Luke Thompson

East Berlin in 1984 was not a comfortable place to live. The Stasi created a state of paranoia and acute distrust; estimates are that there was one informant for every 6.5 citizens in East Germany at the time. Robert Icke's utterly compelling adaptation of Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s Oscar-winning film The Lives of Others may come to the stage dripping with famous names, but also evokes the haunting beauty of the film, delving into the complexity of when humans are asked to do inhumane things.

Starring Keira Knightley as Christa-Maria, a theatre actor who is girlfriend to playwright Georg, played by Luke Thompson. Listening to their every word is Gerd Wiesler (Stephen Dillane), the Stasi officer whose motives become deeply challenged as his duty and morality cross over. The play asks vivid questions about fidelity, trust and what people will do to save themselves or those they love.

A theatrical star vehicle can be a hit-and-miss affair, but this cast does not disappoint. Stephen Dillane is the standout as Wiesler, giving a masterclass in understated yet utterly human acting. Dillane imbues the character with a blankly unemotional obedience to the Stasi cause, which eventually cracks as he is exposed to the couple's lives, personalities and the reality of what he is committed his life to becomes all too clear. The moment when he breaks down listening to Georg playing the piano music gifted to him by his dead friend is beautifully done and incredibly moving.

Bridgerton star Luke Thompson has worked with Icke previously on Hamlet and Oresteia. He brings convincing and naturalistic nervousness to Georg, living under the constant question of who is watching whom and who can you ever really trust. Thompson shows how active dissidence can take over from passive compliance and how the emotional cost takes a wearying toll: he visibly becomes slower and heavier as the story progresses.

Knightly makes a striking return to the London stage after an eleven year break since The Children's Hour. She has convincing chemistry with Thompson, showing outward confidence and vibrancy masking huge inner turmoil and anxiety.

Andrew Woodall is awfully sinister as corrupt minister Hempf and Paul Higgins brings life to the staid Grubitz,  Wiesler's superior officer, while Nick Holder has a short but powerful scene as doomed director Jerska. Refreshingly, all the actors play their roles in their own native dialects and regional accents.

With a slightly slow start, Robert Icke's staging is worth the ticket price alone; as with so much of his work, there are many clever and thoughtful decisions, but none for the sake of just being flashy. Icke places Wiesler on his headphones in a separate office at the side of the stage, gradually integrating him into the action so he sits on the sofa between characters or leans on a bathroom wall silently. The manner in which the end of the play is pulled off will catch you totally off-guard and despite the vast space of the Adelphi, the production still manages to feel intimate and slightly voyeuristic. 

Hildegarde Bechtler's set design incorporates a very slowly revolving stage around which the whole cast move fluidly. Mobile modules are used of rooms in Georg's apartment which have gauze for walls, meaning the sense of observation is constant. Screens move to across the stage to create the impression of a widening and diminishing of a lens, as well as slick transitions to other locations such as a dimly lit bar where Knightly and Dillane have a quietly devastating exchange.

The use of video can often feel gimmicky as it is so overdone in theatre currently, but Tal Yarden's video design is carefully employed without being overused; this is a play about surveillance after all. Giles Thomas's sound design creates suspense and also acts as a clever punctuation to scenes, along with Jon Clark's considered lighting, particularly as Wiesler pulls his headphones on and off.

The decision to play the production two hours, straight-through is an excellent one, meaning no break in tension. This is a gripping and totally absorbing night out, with star casting that pays off in spades.

The Lives of Others is at the Adelphi Theatre until 9 January 2027

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