The critics have now seen ‘Speed-the-Plow’, but what’s the verdict?
Unless you’ve been living under a rock you'll know that Lindsay Lohan is currently in London, trying to revive and reinvent her career by appearing on the West End. At the previews, held late last week, Lohan fluffed a few lines and basically caused some to write her off as a disaster before Speed-the-Plow had even officially opened. But with the press getting their chance to judge Lohan on Thursday (October 2nd), what is the verdict on the former Mean Girl’s performance?
Lindsay Lohan is starring in Speed-the-Plow on London's West End
When reading the reviews of Speed-the-Plow there are three you are suddenly struck by. Number one, it’s all about Lohan, the other lead actors, Richard Schiff and Nigel Lindsay barely get a look in. Number two, Lindsay’s part in the play isn't actually that big and three there are a lot of people named Lindsay associated with this production.
The real worry for Lohan on press night was would she remember all her lines? The answer is, well 99%, as The Express’ Simon Edge pointed out the actress only “needed one prompt” on the night. However Edge did feel that Lohan seemed “uncomfortable with the barrage of interrupted sentences in Mamet's script, putting full stops where there should be dashes.”
More: Lindsay Lohan Struggles To Remember Lines In 'Speed-The-Plow' West End Debut
Her script delivery aside, Lohan did seem to be able to captivate more than a few critics, thanks to her stage presence and “husky voice”. “She has real presence as a gauche, husky-voiced operator who keeps you guessing as to how far she goes around using her idealistic naiveté and wide-eyed questions (“Does it have to be like this?”) as a stalking horse for naked ambition,” writes The Independent’s Paul Taylor.
Most of the negativity in the reviews of Speed-the-Plow isn't actually directed at Lohan. Instead it seems that the production on a whole is slightly lacklustre, rather than its infamous cast member. What probably doesn’t help is that the last time the play was performed in London it went down considerably better. The Telegraph’s Dominic Cavendish writes that the current rival is “saddled with overlong scene-changes and not a patch on the Old Vic production that starred Kevin Spacey and Jeff Goldblum.”
More: Lindsay Lohan Set To Write Three-Part Memoir About Her Life
However there some who will never get over the fact that Lohan was cast in a West End role in the first place. “Her acting is that of a not specially gifted schoolgirl. I do not blame her. At least she had a bash. At least she tried her very best. But she should never have been thus exposed," writes Quentin Letts, in the Daily Mail. “Acting on the West End is no joke.”
But on the whole, Lohan does seem to have silenced most of the doubters who were expecting no less than a car crash from the notorious star. “The first thing to say is that Lindsay Lohan gives a perfectly creditable performance in this revival of David Mamet’s acerbic, anti-Hollywood satire,” The Guardian's Michael Billington writes “Whatever her colourful past, Lohan brings on stage a quality of breathless naivety that is far and away the most interesting thing in Lindsay Posner’s otherwise tame, under-powered revival.”
Lindsay is enjoying her time in London
As The Times’ Dominic Maxwell puts it “Shock news: Lindsay Lohan can act a bit. No, it’s not quite the opening line we disaster-hungry hacks were sharpening our nibs for …” Still there’s no doubt that there will be some who'll be keeping a keen eye on Lohan, just waiting for her to trip up as Speed-the-Plow continues at the Playhouse Theatre until November 29th.
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