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British actress Keira Knightley drew mixed reviews Friday for her debut on the London stage, where she fittingly plays a glamourous Hollywood starlet in an update of Moliere's play "The Misanthrope".
The 24-year-old "Bend it Like Beckham" and "Pirates of the Caribbean" star plays Jennifer, a beautiful actress pursued by playwright Alceste despite his avowed hatred of the glittering but superficial world in which she lives.
While the play has a cast of experienced actors, including Damian Lewis as the conflicted Alceste, Knightley's presence is likely to be the main attraction for audiences -- and the focus of most first-night reviews.
"Even if she doesn't always know what to do with her hands, she gives a perfectly creditable performance," said The Guardian, adding that she brought to the role "a nice mix of faux innocence and flirtiness".
However, the daily was less enthusiastic about Martin Crimp's take on Moliere's famous comedy, which moves the scene from 17th century Paris to 21st century London and its obsession with celebrity.
"Moliere wrote a complex ambivalent play... here it simply becomes an amusing diversion," it said.
The Daily Mail, meanwhile, was scathing about the actress's performance, saying: "Keira Knightley may be one of the 21st century's revered object but on stage she proves little better than adequate."
Knightley joins a string of Hollywood stars who have trodden the boards in London in recent years, including Jude Law in Hamlet, Daniel Radcliffe in Equus and Nicole Kidman in The Blue Room.
In a BBC interview last week she said she expected to be "burned alive" by critics, but insisted: "I thought if I don't do theatre right now, I think I'm going to start being too terrified to do it."
Knightley's much-discussed weight featured in most of the reviews, with The Times noting that her slight figure did not help with her stage presence, saying she was "so wispy she could fit into an umbrella stand".
The Telegraph concurred but welcomed the "stinging, zinging play" and said Knightley's presence "undoubtedly adds a frisson" to the play, in particular by making it clear why Alceste was so obsessed with her despite his beliefs.
