Sheridan Smith has finally broken her silence after her final performance of her West End play Opening Night.
After the curtain dropped on her closing night, the 42-year-old took to Instagram on Saturday (May 18) to share an emotional post with her 758,000 followers. Alongside a sweet snap with the cast and crew taking their final bow on stage, she wrote: “The best night with the best team! Will never forget these people or the show.”
The Gavin and Stacey star was forced to end the show two months early after she received crushing reviews and slow ticket sales. The play follows the story of a functioning alcoholic actress Myrtle Gordon (played by the blonde bombshell) who gets a second chance at fame.
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The play is based on the 1977 drama film of the same name starring Gena Rowlands. Although the production opened in March and was scheduled to run at the Gielgud Theatre until July 27, the show came to an end last night (May 18).
(Image: Dave Benett/Getty Images)
Speaking to Sunday Times, Sheridan confessed she “felt like she let everybody down.” She went on: “I was just heartbroken for the company. I felt that I’d let them down in a way, that I couldn’t sell it.”
Producers Wessex Grove confirmed that the show would be coming to an end at the earlier date in a following statement. It read: “It is an honour to produce this beautiful new musical in the West End, and everyone at Wessex Grove is proud to have delivered the artistic vision of Ivo Van Hove and Rufus Wainwright and their incredible team, led by the exquisite Sheridan Smith.
“In a challenging financial landscape, Opening Night was always a risk and, while the production may not have had the life we had hoped for, we feel immensely proud of the risk we took and of this extraordinary production.
(Image: Sheridan Smith /Instagram)
“Our world class cast delivers a brilliant show night after night, and there are still five weeks left to see Sheridan Smith in the role of a lifetime. What is sure-fire and safe has its place.
“But Wessex Grove exists to produce great artists in the West End and to provide the space for original, artistic-led productions in the commercial sector, productions exactly like Opening Night. We’re grateful for all of the support everyone has given us as we made this show and look forward to celebrating the rest of the run.”
But it’s not the end of the world for the actress after it was announced earlier this month that the mum-of-one is set to play Ann Ming in a new ITV drama, according to an insider. A source previously told The Sun: “Sheridan is taking on the role for a new ITV drama based on Ann’s book, For The Love Of Julie.
(Image: ITV)
“Ann campaigned tirelessly to change the 800-year-old double jeopardy law and saw Julie’s killer, Billy Dunlop, eventually jailed for life. She will work with Sheridan and ITV on the four-part drama which will follow Ann’s fight for justice for Julie.
“It is an incredibly emotional story and Sheridan has promised Ann she will do her, and Julie, proud. Filming will start later this year,” they teased. Fans will have to stay tuned to see what more the award-winning actress will get up to next.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
