Nicole > Filmography > Stage > The Blue Room (1998)
Nicole plays 5 characters, including a sophisticated married woman, a coke sniffing model,
a grandly self-dramatising actress in her mid 40's, a 17 year old tart, and an au pair.
The play is a re-writing of Arthur Schnitzler’s La Ronde and follows a string of couples in a daisy
chain of sexual encounters, set in the early 1900's in Vienna.
GENERAL INFORMATION Released: Previewed 10th September. Showed at the Donmar Warehouse Theatre, London. Opened on 23rd September 1998,
closed on Saturday 31 October 1998. Directed by: Sam Mendes Written by: David Hare Co-stars: Iain Glen Genre: Drama Filming: - Budget: - Box Office: - Runtime: 2hr 28mins
NICOLE SAYS...
"I had absolute terror during the lead up to rehearsals. I was there
the week before, starting to grapple with the accents and thinking, 'What am I doing? This
is crazy.' Sam manages to keep you feeling very safe, and yet there I was feeling, 'This
is madness,' and I got really frightened."
"I was shy and kept going, 'Oh, I don't have the right underwear' - I always came up
with some sort of excuse. Finally Sam just said, 'Nicole, here we go. I think it's
very important; I don't think it's exploitative. It's totally character-driven.'"
"I don't know. This is all pretty overwhelming. I'm still shaking." - when asked if she would be doing more theatre about
The Blue Room
REVIEWS
[1] David Benedict for The Independent - "By contrast Kidman's superbly differentiated gallery of women -
from skittish, deerlike prostitute to an hilariously grand, throaty actress - all turn out to be victims..."
click to read full review
[2] Charles Spencer for The Daily Telegraph - "Best of all, there are Nicole Kidman and Iain Glen, each of them
playing five characters apiece with bravura, skill, real feeling and a sexual charge that at times
threatens to blow the roof off the theatre..."
click to read full review
[3] Nicholas de Jongh for The London Evening Standard - "Miss Kidman lacks much theatrical experience. But all
five roles are in her elegant, confident grasp. She's firmly set in the glow of her sex appeal..."
click to read full review
[4] Michael Billington for The Guardian - "It is, in fact, Hare's comic scenes that come off best and that show
Kidman to be a superb character-actress... She is not just a star: she genuinely delivers the goods..."
AWARDS & NOMINATIONS
Won - Evening Standard Theatre Award Special Award (1998)
Nominated - The Laurence Olivier Awards Best Actress in a play (1999)
TRIVIA
[1] Nicole played 5 different characters in this play
[2] Nicole appeared in the nude during this production
[3] She received "about £250 a week - fuelled by artistic commitment."
[4] After the London run, the play transferred to Broadway and debuted on the 13th December 1998 - Nicole
was only in the London performances.
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The play is a re-writing of Arthur Schnitzler’s La Ronde and follows a string of couples in a daisy
chain of sexual encounters, set in the early 1900's in Vienna.
