Sheridan Smith 'heartbroken' over the decision to close her West End play two months early

Sheridan Smith has confessed she feels 'heartbroken' over the decision to close her West End play 'Opening Night' early following lacklustre ticket sales - admitting she took on the role to face her "demons" after suffering a breakdown during a production of 'Funny Girl' back in 2016.

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Sheridan Smith has opened up about the early closure of her West End play This video is no longer available.

Sheridan Smith feels 'heartbroken' over the decision to close her West End play two months early.

The 42-year-old actress took on the lead role in a production of 'Opening Night' which opened in March, but producers made the difficult decision to bring the curtain down on 18 May instead of July 27 following lacklustre ticket sales - and Sheridan feels sad for everyone involved.

She told The Times newspaper: "I was just heartbroken for the company. I felt that I’d let them down in a way, that I couldn’t sell it ...

"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."

She went on to admit she took on the role of Myrtle - an actress facing turmoil as she prepares to open a play - to face her "demons" after suffering a breakdown during a production of 'Funny Girl' back in 2016.

Sheridan added: "'I was very ashamed of that time of my life, and I wanted to do this part to prove that I could do it, that I could face my demons head on. I'm so much stronger than I was back then."

She went on to conclude that even though the play is closing early, she found it very therapeutic. Sheridan explained: "This has been very cathartic for me ... It’s been like therapy, and even though it’s closing early, we still did it.""