More talented than Jerry Hall

Macauly Culkin can act. That was the overwhelming view of the audience last night.

But when it comes to stage presence, Master Culkin, 20, still has a way to go. When he wandered on to begin his performance no one seemed to notice. Perhaps it was because he is so thin, but the audience just carried on talking and it was 20 seconds before the last "SSH-HHH!!!" finally died down.

Apart from a few insistent pagers and mobile phones, however, there was an atmosphere of intense concentration as the audience studied him.

Even his beautiful co-star IrèneJacob could only draw our eyes for so long. What we really wanted to know was whether Culkin had changed since his Home Alone film blockbuster 10 years ago.

The answer is "no". As comedian David Baddiel said after the show: "He hasn't changed as much as I thought he would considering he's gone through puberty. I kept expecting him to clasp his hands to the side of his face and scream - really, really loud."

Culkin failed to earn a standing ovation but he did return for three curtain calls. Most of the audience pronounced themselves satisfied with his performance.

In a reference to other American stars taking to the West End stage, critic Sheridan Morley said: "He has proved he can do it. He has certainly got a lot more talent than Jerry Hall."

Film director Michael Winner said: "I thought Culkin was very good. He was just right for the part. It's a certain type of American introspective play, but he was excellent - he had great charm, the audience liked him and he seemed to like the audience."

Ballet dancer Irek Mukhamedov, stressing that he was no authority on theatre, said: "I give it eight out of 10. I enjoyed it. That is all I know. I thought it was good."

A-level students Jo Grade, Maria Ware and Olivia Taylor said they "still loved" Culkin from his childhood cinematic hit. Had "Mac" lived up to their expectations?

"I didn't really understand all the stuff about art but he is still really, really sweet," said Olivia.

Jo was more critical: "I don't think he was all that confident. He seemed very nervous." But Maria thought him "brilliant".