22 February 2024 , 22:45
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Sheridan Smith has candidly discussed the public meltdown that she endured eight years ago that left her the laughing stock of the theatre world.
The 42-year-old actress was brutally mocked in 2016 when performing in a West End production of Funny Girl - with the star frequently pulling out of performances at the last minute. She was going through personal struggles as she battled anxiety, became dependant on alcohol, and went through the heartbreak of having her father diagnosed with cancer - a battle he sadly lost in December that year.
Peers took aim at Sheridan as she went through what she calls a ‘meltdown’ - and she has previously discussed how low she felt about being mocked by a talk show host. Now she has opened up about the episode again as she is playing a troubled star in new West End play Opening Night - which is about a fictional actress named Myrtle Gordon who struggles to connect with a character she is playing after witnessing a traumatic event.
Sheridan says that taking on the role has helped her exorcise the past disaster she experienced while playing Fanny Brice in Funny Girl eight years ago. She says the new play is allowing her an opportunity she is a serious actress.
The actress is in the new play - which she says is helping her emerge from 'humiliation' she experienced in 2016 (FILE)Opening up to The Guardian, Sheridan said: “Getting the script for Opening Night was a sign... I knew I had to do the play as a way of taking control of what I went through. I felt so ashamed of that time. I need to prove I’m not that person. It’s been very cathartic.”
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The TV and theatre star also hit out at past productions she has worked on for failing to support her. Of her new roles, she telling said: "There are therapists here that you can talk to... It’s so different from when I had my meltdown eight years ago. There was no support team then. It was just, ‘Get on stage!’... I’m in a stronger place now. We find the truth of a scene, then shake it off and go home.”
After she pulled out of a string of Funny Girl performances at the last minute in 2016, Graham Norton made a joke at Sheridan’s expense while presenting the BAFTAs that year. He quipped: “We’re all excited for a couple of drinks tonight. Or, as it’s known in theatrical circles, a few glasses of technical difficulties.”
In 2020, Sheridan opened up to a documentary team to explain that the joke hit her hard. She said: "I was so humiliated... It’s a room full of your peers, people you want to work with or have worked with. That night, for me, was like the final straw before my brain totally went off the deep end."
More recently, Sheridan has appeared in a number of TV, film and theatre projects. Before playing Myrtle in the current run of Opening Night, she played the title role in a production of Shirley Valentine last year. She has appeared in films including The Queen’s Corgi in 2019 and The Railway Children Return in 2022. She also was a judge of ITV’s Starstruck - but only appeared on the first season in 2022 - later being replaced by Shania Twain.