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A new trend to cast film and TV stars in major roles in West End shows has come under fire after a series of high-profile flops have left audiences disappointed. In the past few years, theatre performances starring Catherine Tate, David Threlfall and Hollywood veteran Sigourney Weaver have all struggled to wow critics. And the so-called celebrity 'stunt casting' trend has also become a point of contention within the industry. While some believe the big names will help entice audiences and boost profits, others say it will drive theatres away from taking risks with unknown casts. This week, Nadine Rennie, the co-chair of the Casting Directors' guild, warned the increasing number of celebrities being cast in the West End risks 'killing the industry'. In comments made at a conference hosted by Spotlight at Rada, she said it will be mid-scale theatres which will be the first to shut down. 'It's killing audiences' intellects. I hear audience members say all the time: "I don't know anybody who is in this". 'Or they are not excited about a new play by an emerging writer.' Meanwhile Jill Green, a top casting director for shows such as War Horse, said some theatres now won't commit to a show until a big name is guaranteed. She told The Guardian: 'This does make it much harder for new writing and productions without headline names to secure a slot.' Alastair Coomer, director of casting at the National Theatre, also spoke of the immense pressure celebrity hires was putting on the industry. He said what names you have in your cast is now the 'biggest driver' for audiences when they consider booking a show. However, celebrity performances in the West End have not always been met with good reviews. Last year, Catherine Tate starred in the West End's The Enfield Haunting, but critics were less than impressed with the on-stage adaptation. She was also joined by Shameless actor David Threlfall - with theatregoers promised 100 minutes of pure horror for up to £165. But the reviews indicated that the play largely failed at what it set out to achieve, leaving critics miffed at the ticket price - and snickering at the attempts to fright. Clive Davies of The Times awarded the play one star, and wrote: 'Paul Unwin’s play, inspired by the notorious case of a poltergeist said to be rattling around a house in the London suburbs in the 1970s, is certain to make the list of worst plays of the year.' He added: 'Forget the supernatural jiggery-pokery, the far-fetched thing here is that Catherine Tate and David Threlfall signed up for such a fiasco.' Meanwhile, Chief Theatre Critics at The Telegraph, Dominic Cavendish offered it two stars, and found a particular dislike at the ticket price. He wrote: 'I wish I could report that it’s worth emerging from your duvet to investigate, but it’s enough to make you repeat-jab the snooze-button, especially with top-price tickets going for almost £165.' Meanwhile, in January ticket prices for Sigourney Weaver's West End debut in Shakespeare's The Tempest were slashed after a string of bad reviews. Daily Mail theatre critic Patrick Marmion gave the show directed by Jamie Lloyd three stars. He wrote: 'Great excitement this week as Hollywood veteran Sigourney Weaver teleported into London to make her long-overdue West End debut.' 'And, as usual, Lloyd’s production is a slave to the microphone, Marmion continued. 'Following his recent Romeo and Juliet starring Tom Holland, his insistence on using mics not only makes everyone look like they’re lip-synching, it paradoxically renders some of the Bard’s finest verse in muttered whispers.' He added: 'I'd like to have seen Weaver's emotional range stretched a bit more than simply deploying her as an alpha-female observer on her own story. 'It’s a bit like renting a vintage Cadillac and using it for the weekly shop.' Meanwhile, Mr Marmion was also critical of Lady of the Sea, starring Andrew Lincoln, Alicia Vikander and Joe Alwyn in September this year. He wrote: 'This modern re-hash of Henrik Ibsen’s 19th-century Norwegian Aga saga at London’s Bridge Theatre should have whipped up more of a storm. 'It stars Andrew Lincoln from Netflix’s The Walking Dead, Oscar-winner Alicia Vikander (of the transgender drama The Danish Girl and Lara Croft in Tomb Raider), and (wait for it...) Joe Alwyn — the hot young actor who famously dated Taylor Swift. 'Weirdly, though, re-writer and director Simon Stone turns this tantalising trio of eye-catching celebs into a blandly homogenous bunch of wittering, health-conscious hedonists, without a cultural, moral, or political compass between them. 'Instead, they are sweary, middle-class, wine-guzzling zombie citizens of nowhere.
