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Zach Braff play lambasted by critics | Zach Braff play lambasted by critics |
(about 3 hours later) | |
US actor Zach Braff, star of sitcom Scrubs, has failed to impress the UK's leading theatre critics with his debut appearance on the West End stage. | US actor Zach Braff, star of sitcom Scrubs, has failed to impress the UK's leading theatre critics with his debut appearance on the West End stage. |
"The most aimless, pointless play I have ever seen" was the verdict of The Times' Libby Purves on All New People. | "The most aimless, pointless play I have ever seen" was the verdict of The Times' Libby Purves on All New People. |
The Guardian's Michael Billington said it was "a muddled, meandering affair that reeks of self-gratification". | The Guardian's Michael Billington said it was "a muddled, meandering affair that reeks of self-gratification". |
Yet Braff's play did find one friend in the Telegraph's Charles Spencer, who said the show "deserves to prosper". | Yet Braff's play did find one friend in the Telegraph's Charles Spencer, who said the show "deserves to prosper". |
"This 90-minute piece never outstays its welcome," he wrote in a four-star review that saluted the script's blend of "the comic and the poignant". | "This 90-minute piece never outstays its welcome," he wrote in a four-star review that saluted the script's blend of "the comic and the poignant". |
All New People, which opened in London on Monday after tour dates in Manchester and Glasgow, tells of a man contemplating suicide on his 35th birthday. | |
He is interrupted by the arrival of an English property agent, played by Torchwood's Eve Myles, who is later joined by two additional characters. | He is interrupted by the arrival of an English property agent, played by Torchwood's Eve Myles, who is later joined by two additional characters. |
In his two-star critique, Billington said Braff's play - first staged in New York last year without its author in the cast - was undone by "its mixture of sentimentality and sexism". | In his two-star critique, Billington said Braff's play - first staged in New York last year without its author in the cast - was undone by "its mixture of sentimentality and sexism". |
The 36-year-old, wrote Paul Taylor in The Independent, "is still writing in the rhythms of television sitcom where the wisecrack and its instant gratifications predominate over longer-term goals". | The 36-year-old, wrote Paul Taylor in The Independent, "is still writing in the rhythms of television sitcom where the wisecrack and its instant gratifications predominate over longer-term goals". |
The Arts Desk website said the play was "a pleasant enough distraction" but added it "starts to score dangerously high on the So-what-ometer". | The Arts Desk website said the play was "a pleasant enough distraction" but added it "starts to score dangerously high on the So-what-ometer". |
"The show doesn't hang together or pack a big punch," opined Michael Coveney in his three-star write-up for Whatsonstage.com. | "The show doesn't hang together or pack a big punch," opined Michael Coveney in his three-star write-up for Whatsonstage.com. |
But he did describe Braff - who played Dr John Dorian in Scrubs from 2001 to 2010 - as "an immensely likeable and alert comic performer". | But he did describe Braff - who played Dr John Dorian in Scrubs from 2001 to 2010 - as "an immensely likeable and alert comic performer". |
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