Lindsay Lohan got laughed at during her West End debut

Having lived in the UK on and off over the past several years, I can say one thing about the Brits: they don’t suffer fools gladly. They have no time for nonsense and tedious bullshit that Americans entertain all too gladly, which is why I knew Lindsay Lohan performing in Speed-the-Plow on the West End was going to be a total disaster and I couldn’t wait. And indeed, it’s worked out just that way, with the London audience actually laughing at her during the show’s opening night.

From The Daily Beast:

On the first night of previews, a work-in-progress feel is to be expected. But halfway through the second act of Speed-the-Plow, the audience was openly laughing at Lohan’s struggle to grasp Mamet’s sharp, trademark dialogue.

After her first audible prompt, which came shortly after the interval, the audience sat patiently. The second led to titters in the stalls. Unfortunately for Lohan, the next line delivered by Richard Schiff (Toby from The West Wing) was: “You have done a fantastic job!”

The laughter grew louder.

Although she was sitting staring at a book, which may or may not have contained clues, a third prompt from the wings had Lohan smirking, and she raised her hand to her heart apologetically. By now, even her serious lines were being greeted with laughter. “I know what it is to be bad, I’ve been bad,” her character Karen emotes. More laughter.

“Oh my god, it’s so embarrassing,” said a woman in the crowd during an unusually long set change. In truth, Lohan remained charming throughout.

The chaotic second half had not started promisingly when the occupants of the box closest to the stage tipped a glass of champagne over someone in the front row. It ended with a minor wardrobe malfunction as Lohan’s blouse puffed out—untucked—below what was supposed to be a smart new outfit.

Ouch. That sounds… sufficiently awkward. That all being said, however, the article goes on to insist that there was no major trainwreck, she just needs to, you know… learn her lines. I actually would be interested to see this in person, if only to witness it with my own eyes. The character Lindsay’s playing is desperate, obsessive… in other words, a little too close to who she really is, which is why, I suppose, people are laughing – even when they shouldn’t be.