Keira terrified by stage debut

Keira Knightley says she does not expect her West End debut to gather much acclaim from critics. The actress is professionally appearing on the stage for the first time.

Keira Knightley says she does not expect her West End debut to gather much acclaim from critics.

The 24-year-old actress is professionally appearing on the stage for the first time in a revival of Moliere's The Misanthrope.

The play opened at the Comedy Theatre today and will continue running till March 13, 2010.

The production, adapted by Martin Crimp, moves the scene of action from 17th Century Paris to present day London. However, the Pirates of the Caribbean star is just focussing on her performance.

"I'm not coming into it with any great expectations of coming away with great reviews," the BBC quoted Keira, as saying

Explaining why she decided to foray into theatre, she said: "I thought if I don't do theatre right now, I think I'm going to start being too terrified to do it…So I just thought, okay, dive in and give it a go."

She added: "If my best isn't good enough, then so be it." She also revealed that her experience so far had been "extraordinary and incredibly fulfilling".