The actress Sheridan Smith claimed yesterday that she was being placed under pressure to return to the stage after pulling out of a performance in Funny Girl The Musical because of a family illness.
Smith, 34, dropped out of the production after reportedly learning that her father had cancer.
In a series of tweets, later deleted, which suggested a row with the producers of the show at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London, she accused them of “covering your asses” and said that she would “see u in court”. She wrote in one: “You have no idea what i’m being pressured into. They don’t give a f*** about my dad!”
The producers of the show, which is about to transfer to the West End, issued a statement saying that they would never ask her to perform in such circumstances.
Smith’s tweets followed criticism by some fans after she failed to appear on stage on Tuesday. She suggested that fans asked for tickets to the production at the Savoy Theatre. She was also said to have offered to pay train fares.
Advertisement
Smith’s brother Julian died from cancer when she was eight years old.
The producers said that her role was being performed by an understudy for the second night running. One of the tweets from @Sheridansmith1 said: “apologies for last night, I would’ve just sobbed throughout”.