Daniel Radcliffe wins over critics with new London play
Daniel Radcliffe has won unanimous praise for his performance in new London stage show The Cripple Of Inishmaan.
The Harry Potter actor plays the title role in a revival of writer Martin McDonagh's black comedy, and he earned rave reviews across the board from U.K. theatre critics when the show opened at the Noel Coward Theatre on Tuesday night (18Jun13).
Libby Purves of The Times newspaper gives the production four
stars, branding it the "perfect ensemble piece" and calling
Radcliffe the "heart" of the show who imbues his orphan character
Billy, a disabled Irish teen desperate to leave home, with a
"still, melancholy intensity and resolve".
The Independent's Paul Taylor calls Radcliffe the "genuine article"
and hails his "honest, sensitive, unshowy performance", conceding
that he "nails the acting - if not the Irish accent".
Michael Billington of The Guardian is also full of praise for the
former boy wizard, writing, "Radcliffe... has the precious gift,
vital in a play full of narrative surprises, of seeming artful and
vulnerable at the same time."
The Daily Telegraph reviewer Charles Spencer gives the production
three stars, but insists Radcliffe "lends this disconcertingly
cruel play what little heart it has," and adds, "It has to be
admitted that the piece is theatrically effective, outstandingly
acted and often disgracefully funny."