Opening night
Equus reviews are in and critics and
celebrities have nothing but praise for Dan Radcliffe’s performance, which received another standing ovation.
The Guardian gave the play four out of five stars.
Quote:
Forget all the prurient press speculation about Harry Potter's private parts. The revelation of this revival is that Daniel Radcliffe really can act, proving that his screen appearances as J.K. Rowling's boy-hero are no flash in the magic pan.
According to
The Daily Telegraph:
Quote:
Daniel Radcliffe brilliantly succeeds in throwing off the mantle of Harry Potter, announcing himself as a thrilling stage actor of unexpected range and depth.
Despite minimal previous theatrical experience Radcliffe here displays a dramatic power and an electrifying stage presence that marks a tremendous leap forward.
The actor keeps turning the emotion on a sixpence, switching from sullen anger to raw vulnerability, or from terrible pain to a sudden childlike innocence and charm.
Even the
Daily Mail was full of praise:
Quote:
What was striking, instead, was the emergence of young Dan Radcliffe in the artistic raw, tested as an actor and found equal to a stretching role.
He has put Harry Potter tidily behind him - should he so desire.
Actor Christian Slater attended the opening night performance and praised Dan as well.
Quote:
The work that Daniel did on stage was incredible, extraordinary. I take my hat off to him completely.
He became Alan Strang. I never thought for one second I was looking at Daniel Radcliffe - I was watching Alan Strang.
Co-star Richard Griffiths
complemented Dan, too.
Quote:
He has an old head on young shoulders. He has to be regarded in a new way because he is a proper actor.
As far as Dan appearing nude in the play, TV presenter Graham Norton said:
Quote:
Why do people keep asking about him being naked? I'm a gay man and I'm not mentioning it. It's a play - get over it, ladies.
And how does Dan himself feel about all the attention around his nude scene with co-star Joanna Christie?
Quote:
I sort of expected it really. If I went into it thinking nobody was going to talk about it, I would have been very stupid.
But it's not a big part of the play, it's four minutes at most.
Congratulations, Dan! Well done!