by Cheryl curtsies as the curtain closes during the late-night press screening of 2:22 A Ghost Story at The Lyric Theater on February 1.
She’s been a pop star, a model, a TV talent show judge, and now cheryl she’s reinvented herself yet again, this time as an actress, and she seems pretty good at it.
previous girls Aloud singer and X Factor Judge has received near unanimous acclaim from critics after making his West End debut in the hair-raising thriller 2:22: A Ghost Story.
In it, she plays a woman named Jenny (a role previously played by characters like ily allen, Joanna Fletcher Y laura whitmore), who becomes convinced that his house is haunted.
The show, which recently moved to London’s Lyric Theater after opening last year, had its press night on Wednesday, at which the usually hard-to-impress theater critics were invited to pass judgment on the new cast, which also features returning stars and former EastEnders actor Jake Wood, alongside Scott Karim and Louise Ford.
Cheryl on stage with her co-stars
Since her choice initially came as a surprise to her fans and theater-obsessed alike, Cheryl won them over with her debut: Here’s what critics had to say about her performance…
“Cheryl transcends the fact that she arrives onstage chased by celebrity glitz. At first she is both funny and down-to-earth as Jenny, left alone in a big house while her husband, Sam, is at work. An early joke about drinking gin and producing “breast milk slammers” lands well. If there’s a concern, it’s that she’s a bit underrated, but then, between the screaming fox sex and the more inexplicable bumps in the night, supernatural tensions rise and Cheryl proves she’s more than capable of riding the emotional roller coaster. ”.
“Cheryl makes her debut under the glare of the West End. Like her own X Factor moment of hers, it’s respectable enough of a first try, albeit a hard-hitting one: big volume and a sudden, thunderous rage.
“To be fair, the others are just as loud. In this haunted house story that begins as a comedy of manners, Cheryl convincingly plays the bewildered new mother Jenny, who is the one who believes that the house she and her husband, Sam (Scott Karim), bought, shes charmed”.
“She proves a class act and, whisper it, she’s even the most low-key player on stage.
“She’s always exuded composure, and while that straightness (not to mention her flawless complexion) doesn’t quite match the tired new-mom/hands-on-teacher summary, it befits the character’s status-consciousness.”
“As for Cheryl, it’s safe to say she makes a confident debut; sure, sometimes the intonation wavers, while the occasional outburst of anger from her can seem unexpected and one-note (then again, so do most sleep-deprived outbursts). For the most part, it will be a twist that few critics will find major fault with.”
“Her immaculate looks and Geordie accent mean she never feels like anyone more than Cheryl: she certainly doesn’t feel like Jenny, the bullied schoolteacher with a new baby who’s playing here. But she has great comic timing, drawing big laughs with put-downs directed at her snooty husband or bizarre stories about a fox mugging a shopper outside Sainsbury’s… It’s when the chills of the story kick in that she stumbles a bit, falling in a performance style. that can sometimes be described as ‘squeak and point’”.
“As Jenny, Cheryl gives a confident, measured performance. Her Geordie accent may be instantly recognizable, but she fully inhabits the role. She excels at the show’s quieter, more naturalistic moments, and has a knack for comedic timing. At times, it’s hard to separate Jenny from the glamorous pop star, but when she smiles or cradles a cup of tea, her performance is totally believable.”
“But is Cheryl good? Actually, yes: certainly good enough to draw a new crowd to this chillingly superior and relentlessly effective.
“It’s true that sometimes you miss her genuine emotional range or her slightly exaggerated mannerisms and just gape. Those dimples, those empathetic doe eyes, that Geordie nutcracker accent… Wow, that’s really her! A sensational event, in every way.”
