Nicole Kidman back in West End as dna pioneer, 17 years after ‘theatrical Viagra'

Pure chemistry: Nicole Kidman as DNA pioneer Rosalind Franklin
Johan Persson
Robert Dex @RobDexES4 September 2015
The Weekender

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This is the first image of Nicole Kidman’s return to the West End stage — 17 years after her appearance in The Blue Room was described as “theatrical Viagra”.

This time around the Oscar-winning actress plays scientist Rosalind Franklin in Photograph 51, about the pioneering team who worked towards cracking the DNA code in the Fifties.

Kidman, now 48, prompted headlines around the world with her last West End appearance at the Donmar Warehouse in 1998. It included a brief but much discussed nude scene.

Photograph 51 reunites her with director Michael Grandage, following their work on the film Genius about the life of American literary talent spotter and editor Max Perkins.

Blast from the past: Nicole Kidman on stage in David Hare's The Blue Room in 1998 
Tristram Kenton

Franklin, a Londoner whose X-Ray images of DNA helped identify its double helix structure, was a key part of the team whose research won the Nobel Prize for James Watson, Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins in 1962, four years after her death from cancer.

The extent to which her contribution has been recognised has long been a subject of debate in academic circles.

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The show, which opens this month at the Noel Coward Theatre, also stars Will Attenborough as Watson and Stephen Campbell Moore as Wilkins.

Kidman said it was a “joy to be coming back to London theatre”, adding: “When Michael sent me the play I felt honoured to portray this remarkable woman. It’s been lovely rehearsing here over the summer working with such committed actors and visiting King’s College where Rosalind did most of her research.”

Of his famous co-star, Campbell Moore said: “I’m not going to play it cool, it’s amazing. It’s just one of those things I never imagined would happen and I’m still slightly pinching myself.”

The show runs until November 21.

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