Ovation for Darius's Rhett Butler

Some critics said Darius Danesh and Jill Paice lacked sexual chemistry

Darius Danesh gained a standing ovation for playing Rhett Butler on the opening of Gone With The Wind in the West End - but the show suffered mixed reviews.

The musical adaptation of the legendary 1939 movie ran to three-and-half hours despite cuts, but Danesh remarked it was "still shorter than the film".

Despite a warm reception from a star-studded audience, critics called the show "dreary and unspectacular".

Danesh gave a "stilted impersonation" of Clark Gable, said The Telegraph.

Critic Charles Spencer said Jill Paice, in the role of Scarlett O'Hara, was "pert, pretty and full of pep" but she lacked "the viciousness and eroticism the role also demands".

'Diabolically dashing'

Paul Taylor of The Independent was more convinced by Danesh's performance.

He said: "The diabolically dashing Darius Danesh brings a seductively insolent charm, a dark velvet voice and a genuine fugitive pathos to the cynical blockade runner."

Paul Callan of the Daily Express also heaped praise on the former Pop Idol contestant, saying "only his performance saves this show from crumbling into utter mediocrity".

But Trevor Nunn's show, he went on to say, was "frequently dire".

Other cast members, including Yvette Williams as Mammy and Jina Burrows as Prissy, were widely applauded by the critics.

Danesh said after his performance: "I had a blast, it was my first opening night and it was great to cut my teeth with the inimitable Trevor Nunn."