Funny Girl boss: ‘Sheridan Smith’s determined to make stage return’

Sheridan Smith will have to wait until she gets the all clear from doctors to perform in Funny Girl despite being desperate to return to the London stage.
In early May (16) the actress left her role as jazz age entertainer Fanny Brice at the British capital’s Savoy Theatre after being given a leave of absence by the show’s producers of two to four weeks to cope with stress and exhaustion.
She also missed several shows at a separate venue in March this year (16) after her father Colin was diagnosed with cancer.
More than a month after her departure the actress has still not returned to the show, but producer David Babani says she is determined to resume her role.
However, he and his fellow producers will not allow her to return without receiving an all clear from doctors.
“I would hope within the month we will have her back on stage,” he tells Britain’s Daily Telegraph newspaper. “She is dying to come back. I doff my cap to her sheer determination.”
David adds, “We are dealing with an incredibly talented and well-loved actress who has been ill with stress and exhaustion. From a health and safety point of view, we’re not going to endanger anyone in our employ. Only once the doctors say she’s fit to work will we be able to bring her back to the show.”
Shortly after signing off from the show in May, the star suffered another health scare when she was hospitalised after an unspecified medical emergency at a spa resort in Hampshire, England.
While back in April (16), she also alarmed fans after appearing to slur her words during a performance of Funny Girl which was abandoned before the end of its first act.
David insists that the incident, which one of Sheridan’s co-stars Maurice Lane explained as being the result of medication, was not due to the British star being drunk on stage.
“I can’t go into the details, but she was absolutely not drunk on stage,” he explains.
In Sheridan’s absence, the role of Fanny Brice has been taken by her understudy Natasha J. Barnes. The show runs at the Savoy Theatre until 8 October (16).