Sheridan Smith is returning to UK cinemas later this year, it has been revealed – as one of her most critically-acclaimed performances to date hits the big screen to mark its 10th anniversary.
Musical comedy Funny Girl earned rave reviews when it played at London’s Menier Chocolate Factory in 2015, before transferring to the West End’s Savoy Theatre in 2016 and embarking on a UK tour thereafter.
In portraying performer Fanny Brice, the I Fought The Law favourite followed in the footsteps of Barbra Streisand, who originated the part on Broadway in 1964 before reprising the role in London two years later and then leading the film version in 1968.
The story follows Brice as she starts out on the New York vaudeville circuit, before eventually becoming a huge Broadway star. It features iconic showtunes such as ‘Don’t Rain On My Parade’ and ‘People’.
Now, according to WhatsOnStage, a filmed performance of Smith’s version will screen from 30 April at select cinemas nationwide. Production company Liberator Film Services confirmed on Instagram that it was captured at the Manchester Opera House, on the final night of its tour in February 2017.
The show, which co-starred the late Darius Campbell Danesh, received strong reviews at the time; with The Guardian saying Smith was “never less than astonishing” in their four-star critique.
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The Arts Desk, meanwhile, wrote: “Though Fanny plays to the rafters, Smith maintains all-important intimacy with her audience. That captivating open-heartedness carries us through the show’s dubious passages – a star turn that almost transforms a good musical into a great one.”
In a five-star review, London Theatre said: “Smith makes it into something extraordinary — truthful, bold and heartstopping by turns. She does the seemingly impossible with both ‘People’ and ‘Don’t Rain on My Parade’, two numbers that became part of Streisand’s signature repertoire.”
Elsewhere, Smith – who is currently starring on the West End once again in Woman In Mind alongside Romesh Ranganathan – has a high-stakes TV drama on the horizon in the form of The Cage.
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The story, from the team behind The Responder, follows Leanne (Smith) and Matty (Michael Socha) as they realise they’re each plotting to rob from same casino they both work in. The discovery puts them on a collision course with the police, the gangsters they work for and each other.
On the big screen, she’s also appearing alongside Rebel Wilson in Girl Group, which is about a popstar who is unceremoniously excluded from her bandmates’ reunion tour. The Pussycat Dolls’ Ashley Roberts, Mel C from the Spice Girls and Shaznay Lewis of All Saints all feature, with Wilson also directing.
Funny Girl is in select UK and Ireland cinemas from 30 April.
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Shaun is an Evening News Editor at Digital Spy, with over a decade of experience reporting on all things pop culture. He has written for outlets including Metro, Attitude, Huffington Post, The Mirror, Yahoo!, Pink News and Express Online; specialising in TV, movies, soaps, music and LGBTQ+ issues. He is also a BAFTA Rocliffe-winning scriptwriter, having written episodes of the soap Hollyoaks, the official Steps musical Here & Now and multiple Offie Award-nominated plays. He studied English Literature and Drama at the University of East Anglia, and will happily talk at length about Desperate Housewives to anyone who’ll listen.