Lindsay Lohan defends Speed-the-Plow West End debut after messing up lines

The ‘Mean Girls’ actress said it was far from a disaster

Lindsay Lohan made her West End debut earlier this week in 'Speed-the-Plow' (PA)

Lindsay Lohan has defended her West End debut after she was accused of forgetting her lines during the first performance of David Mamet’s Speed-the-Plow.

The 28-year-old actress’s first performance at the Playhouse Theatre in London did not go down well with the audience and critics alike.

“It could’ve been a disaster – but it wasn’t by far,” Lohan told The Mirror.

She went on to say: “I respect people have an opinion, but I’m doing the best I can and will for the duration. I’m doing this because working makes me feel happy and this is a new venture for me.”

Members of the audience took to Twitter to air their frustration at Lohan’s performance and said the star was holding a book containing her lines.

One user called Steve said: "Lindsay Lohan needed line prompting 5 times, after the interval, but hiding behind 1st preview nerves is a great performance. #speedtheplow".

While Clare posted: "So Lindsay Lohan had her lines written down in a book & also got fed a line. Total car crash."

In recent years Lohan has become better known for her hard-living, party girl lifestyle and brushes with the law than her acting.

She took on the role in Speed-the-Plow in hopes that it would her change the image and get the focus back on her acting.

“‘I’m at a point when I want a diligent routine and I really want to get back into work. And I wanted to do something different: people have certain perceptions of me and I wanted to change them by doing something like a Mamet play,"she told Time Out London.

She went on to say: "I’m hoping it’ll take away attention from me as a celebrity name and draw attention to the fact that I’m an actress."

She also spoke to Al Pacino, who told that starring in a play could help further her acting career and getting roles in the future.

The satirical play pokes fun at the Hollywood film industry and the idea of blockbusters.

Lohan plays Karen, the secretary to a big movie executive, who convinces her boss to drop a sure-fire hit for a script she has fallen in love with.

The play also stars The West Wing’s Richard Schiff and Nigel Lindsay.

Speed-the-Plow will be running at the Playhouse Theatre from 2 October - 29 November