Sheridan Smith has been dealt a devastating blow to her career, as “bored” audiences reportedly walked out of her new theatre show.
Smith, 42, is currently on stage with musical Opening Night, a new West End show that is running for a mammoth 21 weeks. The show, which is taking place in the Gielgud Theatre in London’s musical neighbourhood, is based on a 1977 film of the same name and follows an alcoholic Broadway star who is trying to move on following the tragic death of a teenage fan.
The actress has been keen to get her hands stuck in on the action and was excited to get the show going. However, it seems that not all of the ticket holders have been equally as enthused.
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It has been revealed that several audience members were spotted picking up their things and leaving the theatre whilst Sheridan was performing. When asked why they had left, one disgruntled customer explained that whilst Sheridan herself was not the problem, it was the content she was given.
Speaking to The Sun, the ticket holder said: “The entire row in front of me left during the interval. I wanted to, but I’m glad I didn’t, as I would have missed the part of the show where Sheridan fights with a ghost while dubstep music is played.”
They explained that some of the crowd had decided to leave the show whilst the former Royle Family star was continuing to act. Many of the audience members were seemingly left confused by the plot of the show and that the organisation and set design of the stage was found to be “extremely distracting”.
To finish, the person said: “Sheridan put on an excellent show, but the material she and the rest of the cast had been given to work with was pretty shocking – with poor songs and a dull storyline. The show is still in previews, so hopefully there are some drastic re-writes before opening night; otherwise it’ll be Closing Night sooner than planned.”
As well as this, viewers were perplexed to see Sheridan, a legend in the modern British acting scene, on her hands and knees as she waited outside the theatre, method acting as her character Myrtle Gordon. The character turns up to the show’s first night late after drinking the sauce, setting the scene for what is to come.
In some innovative theatre work, each night’s ramblings with Sheridan and the crowds is filmed live and worked into the beginning of the play. This immerses the viewing crowd into the performance, as the cameras capture real people reacting to her presence.
Sheridan had taken some time away from the stage after initially reaching her lowest point in 2016. Taking on the role of Fanny Brice in another West End production of Funny Girl, Smith called time on her performance just 15 minutes into the show.
(Image: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)
Thankfully, things have completely changed for Sheridan and she now confronts her previous demons on stage, laying herself bare for all to see. Describing the process as “therapy”, she explained: “I love leaving it all on the stage – I have to say, it is quite fun doing that scene outside.
“I know my publicist doesn’t like it very much for safety reasons and she has a panic but I love it because it is live and so immersive,” she added. My knees have taken a bit of a knock but it all adds to the excitement.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
