Thandie Newton’s West End theatre debut ‘feeble’
Critics underwhelmed by Bafta-winning film star’s performance in Death and the Maiden
LONDON'S Harold Pinter Theatre opened last night with Ariel Dorfman's Death and the Maiden, the harrowing 1991 thriller that still resonates given its themes of repressive regimes and political torture.
But while critics have hailed the work as a worthy choice for the inaugural production at the renamed theatre – previously the Comedy - the first night reviews have not been kind to the play's star Thandie Newton. One critic called her “feeble” while the The Daily Telegraph's Charles Spencer described it as a "classic case of the dangers of star casting".
Newton plays former political prisoner Paulina Salas who seeks revenge on the Chilean doctor she believes once tortured and raped her.
Against the backdrop of recent events in Iraq, Libya and now Syria, Death and the Maiden remains relevant and powerful. The choice was a tribute to Pinter, who in his later years became nearly as well known as a human rights activist as he was as a playwright.
Dorfman’s play has a distinguished heritage - the original Royal Court version starred Juliet Stevenson who went on to win a Laurence Olivier Award for best actress for her performance as Paulina.
Newton, however, "almost entirely misses the flayed intensity, horror and exhilaration that Juliet Stevenson brought to [the] central character 20 years ago," according to Charles Spencer.
The film actress who won acclaim for Crash and Run Fatboy Run "simply doesn't have the theatrical chops for so demanding a role," says Spencer. "Her tight, strained voice, improbably immaculate hair-do and inability to really let rip and lay herself bare emotionally severely diminishes the play's impact."
Aleks Sierz on The Arts Desk calls Newton "disappointingly feeble" and argues that the film actress is completely wrong for the part. "Her sobs are as superficial as shrugs; her passion is as bloodless as thin broth. When she talks dirty, it sounds like a schoolgirl taking a dare. There's really no weight at all behind this acting."
One of the few critics to show some kindness to Newton was The Guardian's Michael Billington. In a three-star review he says: "Even if her voice could do with more modulations of tone, she performs with great assurance, shifting from vengeful fury to sudden vulnerability with total plausibility." ·
