Health troubled Martine McCutcheon is to quit her starring role in the West End musical My Fair Lady when her contract comes up in the spring in order to concentrate on film and TV projects.
Although she has received rave reviews for her stage performances, the 25-year-old actress has been dogged by ill health during her run as the Cockney flower girl in Trevor Nunn’s £5 million revival of the classic musical. In the show’s initial four-month run at the National Theatre, she performed just 63 times and was too poorly to take to the stage for the pre-press night.
The former EastEnders actress says she only ever intended to play Eliza Doolittle for a year, however. A spokesman for the star emphasised that Martine had spent much longer in the gruelling West End role than is usual. “Most stars do runs of just three months, or possibly six,” she said. “When her contract runs out Martine will have done a year.”
Despite repeated bouts of illness Martine did perform on the show’s opening night – only to be struck down anew with a combination of severe throat infection, sinusitis and impaired blood clotting. Eighteen-year-old understudy Alexandra Jay has covered for Martine on numerous occasions.
The Cameron Mackintosh-Trevor Nunn production has proved very popular with the theatre-going public, and advance sales up to March 16, when Martine and her co-star Jonathan Pryce are due to leave, are approaching £7 million. In the wake of Martine’s departure producers are keen to sign up another “name” and have approached recent Chicago star Denise Van Outen, who made her West End debut earlier this year. Claire Sweeney, who joins Chicago on December 3, and Danii Minogue are other possible contenders.
Martine, who embarked upon a brief pop career after leaving EastEnders, says she plans to concentrate on a screen career and has “numerous” film and TV projects under consideration.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
