Porgy and Bess directed by Timothy Sheader, Regent's Park Theatre

Por

Porgy and Bess is an absolute treat. Timothy Sheader’s production goes beyond genre-classification to create ‘a happening.’ The range in human emotion from comedy to despair, filtered through superlative music via Blues, Jazz, Gospel and dynamic singing, ensures classic status. At the dramatic centre is Porgy (Rufus Bonds Jnr) who protects Bess (Nicola Hughes) giving her what the world of possession and addiction, through the towering Crown (Phillip Boykin) and magical dust dealer Sporting Life (Cedric Neal) have denied her, dignity. The Catfish Row Community, led by its woman-folk, in the compassionate Mariah (Sharon D Clarke) and grieving Clara (Jade Ewen) battle with life’s vagaries and the natural elements. It’s against these two trajectories that the drama plays out in electrifying power and intensity. The Gershwins’ music and lyrics shine through from the anthemic Summertime, sung in both hope and despair, to Sporting Life’s seductive It Ain’t Necessarily So. Porgy and Bess, at Regent's Park, has it all.......