Spacey's play blasted by critics

Kevin Spacey's debut as artistic director of London's Old Vic Theatre has been met with stinging criticism.

The Oscar-winning actor opened his tenure on Tuesday with the launch of Dutch playwright Maria Goos' play Cloaca.

Charles Spencer, a critic for British newspaper The Daily Telegraph, described the production - about three friends helping out a fourth one who has found himself in trouble - as "a stinker. I've had more fun lying in the gutters than sitting through this comedy".

However, Spacey remains undeterred by the critical mauling.

He says: "I think it is going to be a play people recognise themselves in no matter what country they come from because it is about friendship. We all have friends."