The other interesting thing about libel is that unlike most civil and criminal offences, the burden of proof is on the defendant. This means that if you are suing me for libel for something that it has been established that I wrote, then it's up to me to prove on the balance of probabilities that it's true, otherwise it's legally libel and you win. Makes sense really.
Ever since Sheridan started winning major awards, I wondered how long it would take for the press to get the knives out. How dare she be working class and successful! :mad:
Ever since Sheridan started winning major awards, I wondered how long it would take for the press to get the knives out. How dare she be working class, drunk and successful! :mad:
Ever since Sheridan started winning major awards, I wondered how long it would take for the press to get the knives out. How dare she be working class and successful! :mad:
It's not even that really. It's the fact she shows her emotions. That sadly makes her a target for them. They'll be hoping she says something on twitter (which I notice is now a private account) or similar. They just like prodding and prodding until the person cracks. It's disgusting.
I know someone who was there and in the theatre world, sadly it seems this was the truth. She was forgetting lines and stumbling over them and the steps and slurring. This was all said before it was even cancelled.
Most of the people there thought the same, even without general discussions.
The person who put that could have just been a fan who wasn't even there, or one who perhaps sees things through rose tinted glasses.
Sadly, it is not the first time either, however people have been good at covering their tracks.
It is unlikely she could go after them for defamation, as if it were so untrue the producers and the stars of the show would be quick to jump in.
I think she is an amazing talent, I have tickets to go in June, however she is flawed too.
I don't think the press should go after her in the way they have today as she is fragile, however it was newsworthy on Friday, people pay good money for their tickets and travel expenses, sometimes a one off occasion.
If you have tickets to see Funny Girl in June and Sheridan still isn't performing my advice would be... To go!!
I'm a huge Sheridan Smith fan. I think she is one of our finest, and most versatile, young actresses and we booked our tickets last November basically to see her, so I was very disapointed when it was announced she wouldn't be performing. As my wife said on Thursday evening when we were on the train to London, "Just our luck".
However we went to Saturday's matinee with, to be honest, low expectations but her understudy, Natasha J Barnes, is simply quite brilliant.
When her name was announced as playing Fanny Brice a huge cheer went up and during the interval the only topic of conversation was how good she was. At the end of the show she received a very much deserved standing ovation, at which point she burst in to tears.
Dominic Cavendish's five star review in The Daily Telegraph of her performance says it all, really...
Yes, I'm still a little disappoined I didn't see Sheridan Smith but that has been more than compensated by the fact I have seen a new West End star emerge in Natasha J Barnes.
If you have tickets to see Funny Girl in June and Sheridan still isn't performing my advice would be... To go!!
I'm a huge Sheridan Smith fan. I think she is one of our finest, and most versatile, young actresses and we booked our tickets last November basically to see her, so I was very disapointed when it was announced she wouldn't be performing. As my wife said on Thursday evening when we were on the train to London, "Just our luck".
However we went to Saturday's matinee with, to be honest, low expectations but her understudy, Natasha J Barnes, is simply quite brilliant.
When her name was announced as playing Fanny Brice a huge cheer went up and during the interval the only topic of conversation was how good she was. At the end of the show she received a very much deserved standing ovation, at which point she burst in to tears.
Dominic Cavendish's five star review in The Daily Telegraph of her performance says it all, really...
Yes, I'm still a little disappoined I didn't see Sheridan Smith but that has been more than compensated by the fact I have seen a new West End star emerge in Natasha J Barnes.
If you have tickets to see Funny Girl in June and Sheridan still isn't performing my advice would be... To go!!
I'm a huge Sheridan Smith fan. I think she is one of our finest, and most versatile, young actresses and we booked our tickets last November basically to see her, so I was very disapointed when it was announced she wouldn't be performing. As my wife said on Thursday evening when we were on the train to London, "Just our luck".
However we went to Saturday's matinee with, to be honest, low expectations but her understudy, Natasha J Barnes, is simply quite brilliant.
When her name was announced as playing Fanny Brice a huge cheer went up and during the interval the only topic of conversation was how good she was. At the end of the show she received a very much deserved standing ovation, at which point she burst in to tears.
Dominic Cavendish's five star review in The Daily Telegraph of her performance says it all, really...
Yes, I'm still a little disappoined I didn't see Sheridan Smith but that has been more than compensated by the fact I have seen a new West End star emerge in Natasha J Barnes.
That's a great post.
I've read a lot of good things about Natasha online and twitter.
If she wasn't on in June when I am set to go, I was still going to go. I'm like seeing shows to see them, I never care if I see the understudy.
Having done it myself, I'm well aware of how hard you have to train to be in these shows and if you have the role as understudy of the lead, you're pretty amazing in your own right. I like to see them come good, it's hard to make a break, especially with celebs taking up main roles, it's hard for those who just live their lives auditioning, getting chorus roles, etc.
Part of me wants to see Natasha a little bit more. :cool:
I've read a lot of good things about Natasha online and twitter.
If she wasn't on in June when I am set to go, I was still going to go. I'm like seeing shows to see them, I never care if I see the understudy.
Having done it myself, I'm well aware of how hard you have to train to be in these shows and if you have the role as understudy of the lead, you're pretty amazing in your own right. I like to see them come good, it's hard to make a break, especially with celebs taking up main roles, it's hard for those who just live their lives auditioning, getting chorus roles, etc.
Part of me wants to see Natasha a little bit more. :cool:
Blimey, she has a look of Sheridan, doesn't she? Anyway, good luck to her. Always nice when the understudy gets a chance to strut their stuff. Hope Sheridan takes whatever time she needs to get herself back on track. Something had to give, with that one. Too much, too fast.
I've read a lot of good things about Natasha online and twitter.
If she wasn't on in June when I am set to go, I was still going to go. I'm like seeing shows to see them, I never care if I see the understudy.
Having done it myself, I'm well aware of how hard you have to train to be in these shows and if you have the role as understudy of the lead, you're pretty amazing in your own right. I like to see them come good, it's hard to make a break, especially with celebs taking up main roles, it's hard for those who just live their lives auditioning, getting chorus roles, etc.
Part of me wants to see Natasha a little bit more. :cool:
Those good things are very much deserved, she has a very good future ahead of her.
Blimey, she has a look of Sheridan, doesn't she? Anyway, good luck to her. Always nice when the understudy gets a chance to strut their stuff. Hope Sheridan takes whatever time she needs to get herself back on track. Something had to give, with that one. Too much, too fast.
I think because Natasha has made such a success since taking over the pressure is off Sheridan to rush back.
The problem Sheridan now has, I think, is the longer she is away and the more rave reviews Natasha has, the harder it will be for her to come back because she will be under so much pressure to match expectations.
I think because Natasha has made such a success since taking over the pressure is off Sheridan to rush back.
The problem Sheridan now has, I think, is the longer she is away and the more rave reviews Natasha has, the harder it will be for her to come back because she will be under so much pressure to match expectations.
Natasha was on BBC radio this morning talking about her role, she said she has eight shows left, which could mean Sheridan will be back after this week.
Natasha was on BBC radio this morning talking about her role, she said she has eight shows left, which could mean Sheridan will be back after this week.
That is interesting to hear, I hope Sheridan isn't rushing back too soon as they were saying last week she could be off for between two and four weeks.
Natasha was on BBC radio this morning talking about her role, she said she has eight shows left, which could mean Sheridan will be back after this week.
I wouldn't bet on it. In fact I wouldn't bet on Smith returning full stop. This Natasha sounds pretty good. Perhaps that was what was causing much of the unrest between Smith and the rest of the cast and production team who could see the understudy was clearly better than the star. A glowing newspaper review is one thing but social media also seems unanimous in its praise for Natasha.
This actually puts much more pressure on Smith because if she returns and isn't as good as Natasha, her reputation will take a serious knock.
PS - Aurora - just saw your post below whilst I was editing. Couldn't agree more. I had the misfortune of being dragged, kicking and screaming (not pretty or dignified for a middle aged man:D ), to see McCutcheon in My Fair Lady and she was dreadful. Simply a case of casting a popular but talentless soapie to get bums on seats.
It annoys me these days that folks can be mega talented and learned their trade but Producers are opting for celebrities to star to pull in the punters. These stars are in many cases not as good as the supporting cast. I don't know if it applies here as I've not seen show so don't want to get into specific argument. It's sadly the age of celebrity. Being on TV and known is what draws audiences to West End.
It annoys me these days that folks can be mega talented and learned their trade but Producers are opting for celebrities to star to pull in the punters. These stars are in many cases not as good as the supporting cast. I don't know if it applies here as I've not seen show so don't want to get into specific argument. It's sadly the age of celebrity. Being on TV and known is what draws audiences to West End.
To be fair to Sheridan I really don't think that is the case here.
Her performance in Legally Blonde was highly aclaimed and she has won several awards for her stage performances, as well as receiving universal critical acclaim for the original revival of Funny Girl at The Menier Chocolate Factory last year, where the run broke all box office and attendance records for that theatre, and since the production moved to The Savoy Theatre.
I saw Tom Chambers in Top Hat - horrific doesn't even come close. The rest of the cast were amazing but he couldn't act for toffee and his steps were out of time. A casting made purely on the fact that he'd won Strictly earlier that year.
I saw Tom Chambers in Top Hat - horrific doesn't even come close. The rest of the cast were amazing but he couldn't act for toffee and his steps were out of time. A casting made purely on the fact that he'd won Strictly earlier that year.
I saw him too, completely agree. I spent many years training in tap, it was awful to see him so out of time and 'fluffing' the steps. The guys behind him were amazing, he couldn't perform the simplest of steps well. Also his voice and accent in it were shocking.
I think I would prefer to see Natasha now. I haven't seen Sheridan on stage, I saw her sing at the Olivier awards and was shocked at how bad she was, considering she has won one!
Natasha is an amazing performer, but the consensus from the reviews and audience feedback is "fantastic but not quite up to Sheridan's standard." I doubt any of the problems were caused by her feeling overshadowed by her understudy.
People complained that David Tennant playing Hamlet at the RSC was "celebrity casting" even though he'd been playing lead Shakespeare roles at the RSC for years before he was ever a TV star!
Comments
Apparently it is: http://www.urban75.org/info/libel.html
'Repetition is no defence'
The other interesting thing about libel is that unlike most civil and criminal offences, the burden of proof is on the defendant. This means that if you are suing me for libel for something that it has been established that I wrote, then it's up to me to prove on the balance of probabilities that it's true, otherwise it's legally libel and you win. Makes sense really.
Already been done...
It's not even that really. It's the fact she shows her emotions. That sadly makes her a target for them. They'll be hoping she says something on twitter (which I notice is now a private account) or similar. They just like prodding and prodding until the person cracks. It's disgusting.
it would give me a hard *n, if you would tell me the sonnnng
(in anonymous transatlantic west-end accent)
If you have tickets to see Funny Girl in June and Sheridan still isn't performing my advice would be... To go!!
I'm a huge Sheridan Smith fan. I think she is one of our finest, and most versatile, young actresses and we booked our tickets last November basically to see her, so I was very disapointed when it was announced she wouldn't be performing. As my wife said on Thursday evening when we were on the train to London, "Just our luck".
However we went to Saturday's matinee with, to be honest, low expectations but her understudy, Natasha J Barnes, is simply quite brilliant.
When her name was announced as playing Fanny Brice a huge cheer went up and during the interval the only topic of conversation was how good she was. At the end of the show she received a very much deserved standing ovation, at which point she burst in to tears.
Dominic Cavendish's five star review in The Daily Telegraph of her performance says it all, really...
Natasha J Barnes is every bit as good as Sheridan Smith in Funny Girl – review
Yes, I'm still a little disappoined I didn't see Sheridan Smith but that has been more than compensated by the fact I have seen a new West End star emerge in Natasha J Barnes.
What a cracking post.
Nice one.
That's a great post.
I've read a lot of good things about Natasha online and twitter.
If she wasn't on in June when I am set to go, I was still going to go. I'm like seeing shows to see them, I never care if I see the understudy.
Having done it myself, I'm well aware of how hard you have to train to be in these shows and if you have the role as understudy of the lead, you're pretty amazing in your own right. I like to see them come good, it's hard to make a break, especially with celebs taking up main roles, it's hard for those who just live their lives auditioning, getting chorus roles, etc.
Part of me wants to see Natasha a little bit more. :cool:
Blimey, she has a look of Sheridan, doesn't she? Anyway, good luck to her. Always nice when the understudy gets a chance to strut their stuff. Hope Sheridan takes whatever time she needs to get herself back on track. Something had to give, with that one. Too much, too fast.
Those good things are very much deserved, she has a very good future ahead of her.
I think because Natasha has made such a success since taking over the pressure is off Sheridan to rush back.
The problem Sheridan now has, I think, is the longer she is away and the more rave reviews Natasha has, the harder it will be for her to come back because she will be under so much pressure to match expectations.
Natasha was on BBC radio this morning talking about her role, she said she has eight shows left, which could mean Sheridan will be back after this week.
That is interesting to hear, I hope Sheridan isn't rushing back too soon as they were saying last week she could be off for between two and four weeks.
Fair point, that.
This actually puts much more pressure on Smith because if she returns and isn't as good as Natasha, her reputation will take a serious knock.
PS - Aurora - just saw your post below whilst I was editing. Couldn't agree more. I had the misfortune of being dragged, kicking and screaming (not pretty or dignified for a middle aged man:D ), to see McCutcheon in My Fair Lady and she was dreadful. Simply a case of casting a popular but talentless soapie to get bums on seats.
It annoys me these days that folks can be mega talented and learned their trade but Producers are opting for celebrities to star to pull in the punters. These stars are in many cases not as good as the supporting cast. I don't know if it applies here as I've not seen show so don't want to get into specific argument. It's sadly the age of celebrity. Being on TV and known is what draws audiences to West End.
To be fair to Sheridan I really don't think that is the case here.
Her performance in Legally Blonde was highly aclaimed and she has won several awards for her stage performances, as well as receiving universal critical acclaim for the original revival of Funny Girl at The Menier Chocolate Factory last year, where the run broke all box office and attendance records for that theatre, and since the production moved to The Savoy Theatre.
Sorry slipping off topic here.
I saw him too, completely agree. I spent many years training in tap, it was awful to see him so out of time and 'fluffing' the steps. The guys behind him were amazing, he couldn't perform the simplest of steps well. Also his voice and accent in it were shocking.
I think I would prefer to see Natasha now. I haven't seen Sheridan on stage, I saw her sing at the Olivier awards and was shocked at how bad she was, considering she has won one!