Sheridan pulls out of West End show AGAIN!
JuST 24 hours after leaving the Baftas empty-handed, actress Sheridan Smith dramatically pulled out of last night’s production of her West end show Funny Girl.
Yesterday morning, the Savoy Theatre informed ticket-holders that ‘due to the indisposition of Sheridan Smith the role of Fanny Brice would be played by Natasha J Barnes at tonight’s performance’.
The news was met with disappointment from many who had paid to see the 34-year-old actress, while others mocked the star for being ‘unwell’ the night after an awards ceremony.
Smith’s no-show comes less than two weeks after a performance of the musical was cancelled early on in the first act after ‘technical difficulties’. however several members of the audience claimed instead that Smith had been drunk on stage.
According to sources, an executive from theatre group ATG, which owns The Savoy, has been drafted in specifically to assess Smith before each show.
On Sunday night Smith was caught on camera looking noticeably disappointed when her BBC adaptation The C Word
failed to win the Bafta award for Best Single Drama. Viewers took to Twitter to poke fun at her, and to ask whether Sheridan could ‘look more p***ed off if she tried’ when BBC3 drama Don’t Take My Baby picked up the gong instead.
The star’s disappointment was seen again when she lost out on the Leading Actress gong to Suranne Jones.
To add insult to injury, the evening’s host Graham Norton also made a dig at the actress, referencing the cancelled performance of Funny Girl last month.
He joked: ‘Let’s get things started because the sooner we get started, the sooner we can have a couple of drinks, or as they say in theatrical circles, a couple of glasses of technical difficulties.’
Yesterday Smith hit back at critics who commented on her ‘loser’s face’. ‘When will u stop bullying?’ she tweeted.
During Funny Girl’s previous run at the Menier Chocolate Factory, she pulled out of the final week when her father was diagnosed with cancer. At the time, she attacked producers for trying to ‘pressure’ her to perform in her emotional state, and tweeted: ‘They don’t give a f*** about my dad.’
Smith’s agent declined to comment.