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Fresh from a residency at the Broadwater Theatre in Hollywood where he won a prestigious Hollywood Fringe Award, Richard Shelton will bring Sinatra: RAW to The Georgian Theatre Royal in Richmond on Monday 30 October.

British actor and singer Richard Shelton has an acclaimed international career spanning theatre, music, television and movies. Widely regarded 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.

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

In Sinatra: RAW, the audience meets 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.

This is the 2am Sinatra you dream of meeting – dangerous, unpredictable, brilliant!

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.

Richard Shelton’s lifelong affinity with Sinatra has seen him tour the world extensively, performing by Royal Command for both British and European royalty, at the world-famous Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London, with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the BBC Concert Orchestra and BBC Big Band.

Tickets cost £25 and are available from the Box Office on 01748 825252 or online at www.georgiantheatreroyal.co.uk