Fresh from an acclaimed residency at the Broadwater Theatre in Hollywood where he won a prestigious Hollywood Fringe Award, Richard Shelton will bring Sinatra: RAW to the UK this Autumn, opening at Chipping Norton Theatre on 4 October.

Following Chipping Norton, the show will visit Cardiff, Bristol, Basingstoke, Lincoln, Lytham St Annes, Radlett, London, Halifax, Wolverhampton, Richmond, Barnard Castle, Middlesborough, Hexham, Sunderland, Aldeburgh, Scarborough and Guildford.

British actor and singer Richard Shelton has an acclaimed international career spanning theatre, music, TV and movies. Acclaimed as “the world’s leading dramatic interpreter of Frank Sinatra”, he was nominated ‘Best Actor in a Leading Role’ for his portrayal of the icon in Rat Pack Confidential (London, West End and Nottingham Playhouse) and has performed Sinatra: RAW, wearing Sinatra’s personal tuxedo, on stages across the globe to critical acclaim.

He is well known in the UK for his two-year stint playing the charmingly murderous Dr Adam Forsythe in Emmerdale.

In Sinatra: RAW, we meet Sinatra as he prepares to retire for the first time in 1971.

Regrets? He’s had a few. Sinatra gathers a few friends together in the Purple Room, Palm Springs, to sing a few songs around the piano, smoke a few cigarettes and reminisce. As the Jack Daniels goes down, the memories surface and he rails against the iniquities of Mafia allegations, a trail of broken love affairs, a life as the leader of the Rat Pack and a life in Hollywood littered with indiscretions and even a suicide attempt.

At the heart of it all is the great love of his life, Ava Gardner – arguably the most beautiful actress in Hollywood and known as ‘The Body’. She’s no pushover and meets him drink for drink and punch for punch as he recalls the heart break of their doomed love affair and marriage. Despite it all, Sinatra emerges triumphant in a belting rendition of ‘That’s Life!’ and we see what made him such an enduring icon.

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