Gwyneth Paltrow a stage hit
2002-05-10 12:11
London - Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow, more used to the silver screen than the stage, was judged a hit in her London theatre debut and broke down in tears, again.
According to the BBC and the Daily Telegraph newspaper on Friday, Paltrow was given a standing ovation after the first preview
performance of Proof.
In the David Auburn play, which has already been a Broadway hit,
she takes the role of the daughter of a genius mathematician who
wonders if she will go mad like her father.
Paltrow's only other stage appearances have been at a
Massachusetts theatre festival, but the audience for Proof said
she handled the high-profile role here with "spellbinding" skill.
She was "absolutely brilliant, wonderful", one told the Daily
Telegraph.
The public - journalists were banned from the first preview and
will have to wait until next week for their turn - said by
the end, she was "very, very emotional".
Although a final scene called for her tears, she carried on
crying for real during two encores.
It recalled her most famous tearful performance, after winning
the Academy Award for best actress for Shakespeare In Love in
1999.
The director of Proof is John Madden - who also directed
Shakespeare in Love - and it is being staged at the Donmar
theatre, itself run by American Beauty director Sam Mendes.
Paltrow, who is taking on her role for only the first month, is the latest Hollywood star to appear on the London stage after the likes of Nicole Kidman, Matt Damon and Jude Law.
Madonna is the next big name lined up, the American singer
playing the role of an unscrupulous art dealer in Up for Grabs. Previews for that start next week. - Sapa-AFP
- SAPA