New York: Keira Knightley makes her Broadway debut in a new adaptation of Emile Zola’s ‘Therese Raquin’, taking to the stage as a woman trapped in a loveless marriage, who begins an affair with her husband’s friend.

The British actress, who has been nominated twice for an Oscar, portrays the title character in the play based on the 1867 novel.

On the first night of previews on October 1, an audience member interrupted the performance by shouting at Knightley and tossing flowers on stage.

‘It’s live theatre and things happen. And the whole point of it is that our job is to stay within the story because there is a lot of other people who have come to watch it,’ Knightley said at the opening night’s red carpet on Thursday.

‘It’s really important that they get the experience ... Obviously you get sometimes where you simply can’t continue, which is what happened on our first preview. But I think everybody has to put their chin up and just get on.’

Knightley, known for films such as ‘The Imitation Game’, ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ and ‘Pride & Prejudice’, made her theatrical debut in ‘The Misanthrope’ in 2009 in London’s West End. She returned to the London stage in ‘The Children’s Hour’.

In this play, presented by the Roundabout Theatre Company at New York’s Studio 54, the set takes the audience back and forth between scenes and even features a lake on stage.

Two-time Tony Award winner Judith Light plays Madame Raquin, Therese’s aunt, Gabriel Ebert portrays Therese’s husband Camille while ‘Constantine’ actor Matt Ryan plays her lover, Laurent. ‘Therese Raquin’ runs until January 3.