Sheridan Smith opens up about her public ‘meltdown’ eight years ago

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Sheridan Smith has opened up about her public “meltdown” that occurred whereas she starred within the West End adaptation of Funny Girl in 2016.

At the time Smith, 42, was coping with private difficulties and psychological well being points following her father’s most cancers analysis. Media protection was dominated by reviews of missed curtain calls, disgruntled audiences and hypothesis about Smith’s alcohol abuse. She finally took a depart of absence from the present because of “stress and exhaustion”.

In a brand new interview, Smith mentioned she recalled having “the curtain brought down on me”.

The Olivier-winner will now star within the new West End adaptation of the movie 1977 Opening Night, which follows Broadway actor Myrtle (performed by Smith) as she has a downward spiral a number of days earlier than the premiere of her newest play.

Smith mentioned that receiving the script for Opening Night was a “sign”, since there are similarities between the character Myrtle and her personal experiences.

“I knew I had to do the play as a way of taking control of what I went through,” she informedThe Guardian. “I felt so ashamed of that time. I need to prove I’m not that person. It’s been very cathartic.”

“I’ve actually had the curtain brought down on me. I’ve been through that sort of crisis,” she added.

The Royle Family actor mentioned that she fearful that parts of Myrtle’s story may be triggering, however there are therapists within the Opening Night firm that she will communicate 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!’” she remembers.

“I’m in a stronger place now. We find the truth of a scene, then shake it off and go home.”

After Smith briefly left Funny Girl, presenter Graham Norton joked about her depart of absence onstage on the Baftas.

“Graham Norton was hosting and made a joke at my expense about me being a drunk,” Smith recalled, in a 2020 ITV documentary about motherhood and psychological well being.

“I was so humiliated,” she continued. “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.”

This got here after a efficiency of Funny Girl was cancelled halfway by means of, with theatre administration citing “technical difficulties” because the trigger.

Norton referenced this whereas addressing the viewers on the Baftas.

“We’re all excited for a couple of drinks tonight. Or, as it’s known in theatrical circles, a few glasses of technical difficulties,” he mentioned.

She later recalled: “Here I was in unbelievable distress, and a room full of people in my industry were laughing at me.”

Opening Night is on the Gielgud theatre, London, from 6 March till 27 July.