David M. Benett/Getty ImagesWho needs a prince when you can become successful all on your own?
Cressida Bonas has proven to herself and ex-boyfriend Prince Harry that she is doing just fine without her former royal flame. The model-actress is receiving phenomenal reviews for her performance in An Evening With Lucien Freud, a one-woman show in London.
She won over the critics' hearts and minds during last week's previews of the show, which tells the story of a young student's relationship with renowned painter Lucian Freud. Jane Shilling of The Telegraph writes, "Wearing a tiny sundress and towering red satin heels, she conveys both Laura's naivete, and the darker resonances of absurdity and vague horror that permeate her encounter with the predatory genius."
Although Bonas is relatively new to the theater scene, Shilling assures, "The charm and energy of Bonas's performance are persuasive enough to charm even a more critical audience than her first-night crowd."
The blog, Family Affairs, gushes about Bonas' performance, finding absolutely zero fault in her performance whatsoever. "Cressida was mesmerising – she is very beautiful and fluid – I hadn't realised she was trained as a dancer at the Royal Ballet School – you can tell and the role is quite demanding physically which she masters to perfection," the author writes.
"She didn't seem at all phased by having the audience so close to her and managed to keep us all entranced under her very beautiful gaze."
Even Harry can't stay away from his ex's performances, as he took in a viewing of her other show, The Importance of Being Earnest, right before the one-year anniversary of their breakup. Harry and Cressida, who made her stage debut in There's a Monster in the Lake at the Hay-on-Wye Festival last summer, have always kept fans on their toes regarding a potential reconciliation.
But she opened up to The Sunday Times about what life is like when you're dating a royal and admitted that the spotlight became a little much. "All that stuff is not real," she said. "It's really important to remember that all of it is noise, noise that can be very loud at times."