Keira Knightley's West End debut as a sexy lesbian?

Rumours are abuzz that Keira Knightley will make her West End debut as a sexy suspected lesbian in Lillian Hellman''s "The Children''s Hour."



Details are still being worked out, but the plan is to open the show in London early next year and then, if it''s successful, bring it to Broadway next winter.

Written in 1934, it''s set in a girls'' boarding school and tells the story of two female teachers whose lives are destroyed when one of their students spreads the rumor that they''re lovers.

The play was banned in Boston but opened in Paris to sensational reviews.

It debuted on Broadway in 1936 and instantly turned Hellman into one of the most famous writers of her day.

No word yet on who''ll play Knightley''s "special friend"u00a0-- Rosie O''Donnell, maybeu00a0-- but the production will be directed by Ian Rickson, who staged a terrific revival a few years ago of "The Seagull" on Broadway