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FILE- In this Nov. 23, 2014 file photo, actress Nicole Kidman poses for photographers upon arrival at the world premiere of the film Paddington, in London. (Photo by Jonathan Short/Invision/AP, File). It was announced on Thursday. April 23, 2015 that Nicole Kidman will return to the London stage to appear in Anna Ziegler's "Photograph 51," a play about the woman who helped unlock the secrets of DNA. Image Credit: Jonathan Short/Invision/AP

Nicole Kidman will return to the London theatre stage in September to play British scientist Rosalind Franklin in Photograph 51, 17 years after the Hollywood actress made her West End debut.

The play, by Anna Ziegler, tells the story of Franklin, whose use of X-ray diffraction images led to the discovery of DNA’s double helix structure in 1953.

Academy Award-winner Kidman debuted on the British stage in the 1998 David Hare play The Blue Room at London’s Donmar Warehouse in a critically-acclaimed performance, described in one review as “pure theatrical Viagra”.

She was nominated for an Olivier Award, London’s premiere theatre awards, for her role.

British director Michael Grandage will direct Photograph 51, reuniting with Kidman following their feature film collaboration Genius.

The play, which will be staged at the Noel Coward Theatre, sees the return of Grandage’s theatre company to London’s West End following a successful run of productions in 2013/2014 such as Henry V starring British actor Jude Law.

Photograph 51 will run from September 14 until November 21.