Nicole Kidman returns to the West End

Hollywood icon Nicole Kidman will return to the West End in a brand new production for The Michael Grandage Company at the Noel Coward Theatre, Photograph 51 by Anna Ziegler. The production runs from 5 September to 21 November 2015, with an official opening on 14 September 2015.

The production will be directed by Michael Grandage and feature set and costume design by Christopher Oram and music and sound design by Adam Cork.

"Does Rosalind Franklin know how precious her photograph is? In the race to unlock the secret of life it could be the one to hold the key. With rival scientists looking everywhere for the answer, who will be first to see it and more importantly, understand it? Anna Ziegler's extraordinary play looks at the woman who cracked DNA and asks what is sacrificed in the pursuit of science, love and a place in history."

Nicole Kidman was last seen in the West End in the 1998 production of David Hare's play 'The Blue Room' at the Donmar Warehouse, which later transferred to Broadway. Most known for her work on film, the Australian actress received the Academy Award in 2003, along with multiple Golden Globe Awards. Her film credits include 'Moulin Rouge', 'The Others', 'The Hours' and 'Cold Mountain'.

The name 'Photograph 51' was given to an x-ray image which revealed the double-helix shape of DNA. It became the crucial starting point for research that identified how DNA was structured. Whilst Franklin was the chemist overseeing the original discovery, her work was largely ignored and Ziegler's play reveals the sexism and hostility that kept her out of the spotlight, and denied her the Nobel Prize.

Further casting and creative team are to be announced.

Tickets for the production, including 200,000 tickets at £10, are now on sale.