Critics Maul Knightley's West End Debut

The Pirates of the Caribbean star landed a role in a London adaptation of Moliere classic The Misanthrope, opposite Damian Lewis and Tara Fitzgerald.

Knightley previously spoke of her worries about her performance, fearing she would be "burned alive" by the critics.

And when the curtain went up for the reviewers on Thursday (17Dec09), Knightley's predictions turned out to be all too accurate.

Quentin Letts, who reviewed the play for Britain's Daily Mail newspaper, wrote, "Keira Knightley may be one of 21st century cinema’s revered objects but on stage she proves little better than adequate.

"Her arrival on the West End in an interesting (but intellectually disingenuous) treatment of Moliere’s Le Misanthrope is, well, on the dull side. She has all the charisma of a serviceable goldfish. Miss Knightley has a flawless face but it does not move about much."

While the Daily Express' theatre critic, Paul Callan, adds, “Her lack of stage experience is sometimes painfully evident. It is rather sad that the heart-wrenchingly beautiful Miss Knightley does not come up to scratch."