Sheridan Smith, 42, has revealed she has "no regrets" regarding her recent West End venture amid the show's early cancellation.
The award-winning actress' current stint on the stage in Opening Night is coming to an end two months earlier than originally scheduled due to poor ticket sales and critical reviews.
The musical, which depicted Sheridan's character undergoing a distressing mental breakdown, debuted in March with an initial run planned until July 27. However, the show was abruptly ended and will now conclude on May 18 - two months earlier than expected.
Speaking in an interview conducted just days after the early ending was announced, Sheridan confessed: "I feel bad for the team and all the work they put in, but I’m at that age now where I want to be challenged. I want to do new things, I don’t want to do that same old boring stuff. I would do it again in a heartbeat, so I have no regrets."
Under the direction of avant-garde Belgian director Ivo van Hove, with music by Rufus Wainwright and based on a 1977 film by John Cassavetes that initially flopped, this production at the Gielgud Theatre was never going to be a light-hearted crowd-pleaser. Despite mixed reviews for Opening Night, Sheridan still won critical acclaim for her performance. "Some people have loved it," Sheridan tells The Sunday Times. "It’s kind of like a cult thing, and the original film was panned when it first opened, so this might not be the end of it."
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But despite seeming positive about Opening Night closing early, Sheridan goes on to break down and sob during her interview as she discussed the cancellation. "Her brave face about the Opening Night flop crumples," the interview notes, before nothing Sheridan began to cry. "I was just heartbroken for the company. I felt that I’d let them down in a way, that I couldn’t sell it," Sheridan told the publication, going on to add: "This has been very cathartic for me … It’s been like therapy, and even though it’s closing early, we still did it."
In more positive news for Sheridan, the Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps actress is set to take on a leading role in a gripping new drama. In her upcoming project, she will embody Ann Ming, a mother who fought relentlessly to alter the law after her daughter Julie Hogg was killed by her former partner in 1989. After a 15-year battle, Ann successfully amended the ancient "double jeopardy" law, which previously prevented individuals from being tried twice for the same offence.
The forthcoming ITV drama will be adapted from Ann's book, For The Love Of Julie. An insider told The Sun: "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."
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