Kidman makes West End debut

Husband Tom Cruise will be babysittting while Kidman is on stage

Actress Nicole Kidman will become the latest Hollywood star to tread the London stage when she opens in previews of The Blue Room at the Donmar Warehouse on Thursday night.

Kevin Spacey, Juliette Binoche, Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes have all performed in the West End in recent years.

The actress, who is married to star Tom Cruise and usually earns £4m per film, will be working for the actors' union Equity's basic wage of about £250 a week.

The play, directed by award-winning director Sam Mendes, has been adapted by David Hare from Arthur Schnitzler's sexually-charged La Ronde.

It explores the sexual intrigues between five different couples. Kidman plays all five female roles which range from a 17-year-old girl to an actress in her mid-forties. Her co-star, British actor Iain Glen, plays the five men.

First night nerves

While looking forward to the challenge that theatre presents, she admits to some pre-first night jitters: "It's a little overwhelming, but it's also exciting. I can't pretend that I'm not scared and nervous, though."

Kidman last appeared on stage 10 years ago in a production of Steel Magnolias in Sydney and says she has been longing to return to theatre for some time: "Films are frustrating in terms of roles for women. In plays there are these great, meaty roles."

She also enjoys being in London where she has spent most of the past three years during the filming of Mission:Impossible, The Portrait of a Lady and Eyes Wide Shut - Stanley Kubrick's long awaited tale of sexual obsession in which she stars alongside her husband.

She even says her two young children speak with English accents as they have spent most of their lives in the UK.

The Blue Room runs from 10th September to 31st October at the Donmar Warehouse, London.