Mixed response to Madonna's West End debut

Madonna’s first stage performance for 13 years received mixed reviews from fans who queued in the rain to see the pop superstar.

The 43-year-old singer was appearing in a preview performance of Up For Grabs at Wyndhams Theatre for her debut in London’s West End.

She last appeared on stage in 1988 in US playwright David Mamet’s Speed-The-Plow on Broadway.

Theatregoers with tickets and others hoping to catch any returned tickets queued down Charing Cross Road.

The preview attracted huge media attention, although the press were not allowed into the theatre.

Security was tight as the doors opened and staff ushered those with tickets inside the theatre, which holds just under 700.

Meanwhile about an hour before the performance started, her director husband Guy Ritchie popped in by the stage door, leaving shortly afterwards with son Rocco.

Afterwards those who saw the play had mixed views on Madonna’s performance, with most saying she improved in the second half once she had got over her nerves.

Victoria Bateman, 32, said she thought the pop star was ‘‘fantastic’’.

‘‘I thought she was a lot better than expected, she was excellent,’’ she said.

Malva Green, 41, said she thought the actress ‘‘put on a convincing performance’’.

‘‘She was nervous to start with but got a lot better,’’ she said.

Mark Collins, 28, said he did not think she had the strongest performance in the show.

‘‘But when she got into it she was really good,’’ he added.

Tony Renardi, from Brooklyn, USA, said the play would probably be well received while it had Madonna in it, but he was not sure it could be sustained with a lesser star.

His wife Barbara Diamond said: ‘‘She got a lot better in the second half, but the play itself I didn’t much care for.’’

In the play Madonna plays Simone, an ambitious art dealer whose attempts to break into the more exclusive buyers’ market finds her bending the rules to get the highest bid for a Jackson Pollock picture.

The cast of seven also includes Michael Lerner and Tom Irwin, and the play is directed by Laurence Boswell.

Madonna left the theatre by the front entrance shortly after the performance finished and was driven away in a waiting car.

There were screams from the crowd as she scrambled for the car and the road outside was blocked by photographers and camera crews.