Sideways News

If it’s to gawk at Keira rather than an appreciation of the complexities of Moliere, people are still there

Describing Hollywood starlet Scarlett Johansson’s performance in Arthur Miller’s A View From the Bridge, New York Times theatre critic Ben Brantley wrote:
 
“In recent years Broadway’s stages have been littered with dim performances from bright stars, including Julia Roberts and Katie Holmes…by comparison, Ms Johansson melts into her character so thoroughly that her nimbus of celebrity disappears.”
 
In the past few years, a plethora of silver screen stars have been seen treading the boards of London’s West End (and New York’s Broadway). Having Hollywood celebrities star in the theatre gets bums on seats, but if theatre is about suspending reality and believing in a character and a story, is this still possible when - thanks to the pages of OK! - we’re already immersed in every detail of said star’s life. Can we really ignore the “nimbus of celebrity”?
 
Sir Alan Ayckbourn, acclaimed playwright, expressed his distaste for the string of Hollywood stars on the London stage, claiming they damage the reputation of British theatre through disappointing performances and sidelining young acting talent, usurped in favour of a big name.  
 
"What is happening is that the theatre is being stuffed with the stars' fans," Ayckbourn told the Evening Standard.

“What they experience in the theatre is a poor performance, and they go out profoundly disappointed and disenchanted. That is another blow for the theatre. You've emptied the theatre for a whole load of people who will never go there again."

"We have tremendous talent in this country. Young actors have never been better, but they are fed up with seeing their jobs whipped away by people who've chanced by a TV camera or stood in a field taking off their clothes.”
 
Even Kevin Spacey, creative director of the Old Vic theatre (himself a big name), recently expressed frustration at constant media pressure to bring stars to the boards.
 
Yet, is bums on seats all bad? “People are flocking to the Comedy Theatre in droves. Let’s face it, they weren’t there because of their need to see The Misanthrope or their love of Molière,” writes theatre critic blog, West End Whingers.
 
Keira Knightly, playing a beautiful Hollywood star, might be the motivation behind ticket purchases, but does it really matter?
 
After all, in the midst of credit-crunched Britain, we were reading story after story about the empty streets of the West End’s theatre land: about struggling theatres and a lack of plays, audience and ticket sales.
 
If it’s to gawk at Keira rather than a genuine appreciation of the complexities of Moliere’s wit, people are still there, enjoying the theatre.
 
And these "celebrities" – as proved by Johansson – are not all bad news. Jude Law (playing Hamlet in the West End) and Rachel Weisz (for her role in A Streetcar Named Desire) won gongs in the prestigious Critics’ Circle Theatre Award last week.

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