SHARON D CLARKE SHINES IN PORGY AND BESS
Last week, director Timothy Sheader’s Porgy and Bess opened at the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, starring our own Sharon D Clarke as Mariah. Premiering on Broadway in 1935, George and Ira Gershwin’s opera-come-musical has been adapted throughout the years . The story, drawn from a 1925 novel by DuBose Heyward, charts the unlikely relationship between the tortured, drug-adled Bess (Nicola Hughes) and the disabled Porgy (Rufus Bonds Jr.), against a backdrop of the deprived but dependable community of Catfish Row. With a knock-out score, heart-felt singing and an excellent cast, this is all set to be a summer smash hit!
“There are also fine supporting performances… Sharon D Clarke is powerfully defiant as Mariah”, Lyn Gardener THE GUARDIAN, ****
“Gershwin’s score is a knock-out, the singing’s great and, with the now obligatory standing ovation on the press night, Regents Park look as though it has a sure fire hit to get them through the height of the summer season.” Simon Thomas, WHAT’S ON STAGE, ****
Porgy and Bess runs at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre until 23rd August.