Sheridan Smith has spoken of her “heartbreak” about the early closure of her current show Opening Night, and shared her concerns she “let down” her colleagues.
The two-time Olivier winner is currently starring in a new musical adaptation of the 1977 film Opening Night, about an actor gearing up for a new play while enduring personal and professional struggles.
While the show itself was critically panned, and ticket sales have reportedly been low, Sheridan’s performance was more well-received in reviews for the show.
However, it was eventually announced Opening Night would be closing two months earlier than planned, which its leading star has taken to heart.
In a new interview with The Times, Sheridan apparently began to cry while discussing the show’s closure, saying: “I was just heartbroken for the company. I felt that I’d let them down in a way, that I couldn’t sell it.”
“This has been very cathartic for me,” she added of the show. “It’s been like therapy, and even though it’s closing early, we still did it.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Sheridan insisted she has no regrets about her role in the ill-fated show.
“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,” she said.
“I would do it again in a heartbeat, so I have no regrets.”
Performances of Opening Night will continue at London’s Gielgud Theatre until Saturday 18 May.
Following this, a new production of 2:22 A Ghost Story will take over at the venue, starring Strictly Come Dancing winners Stacey Dooley and Joe McFadden, former Inbetweeners actor James Buckley and actor Donna Air.
Meanwhile, Sheridan will next be seen in action in the upcoming ITV drama I Fought The Law, based on the true story of a mum who “fought to change the Double Jeopardy Law, and see her daughter’s murderer brought to justice”.