91福利社

Sharon D. Clarke

Best known for her role of Dr Lola Griffin in the popular 91福利社 One drama Holby City, Sharon is also an acclaimed singer. She originated the role of the Killer Queen in the stage show We Will Rock You for which she won the What鈥檚 On Stage Best Supporting Performance Award, alongside an Olivier nomination. She has appeared in many West End shows, including Guys and Dolls (General Cartwright), Fame (Miss Sherman), The Lion King (Rafiki), Chicago (Mama Morton), Rent (Joanne) and Little Shop of Horrors (Voice of Audrey II).

Working regularly with Haringey Shed Theatre and The Hackney Empire Artist Development Project, Sharon runs workshops and teaches singing master-classes.

She achieved chart success with the FPI Project鈥檚 remake of Going Back to My Roots which reached number eight in the charts and again in 1990 as lead singer of Nomad with the single (I Wanna Give You) Devotion, which sold two million copies worldwide, reaching number two in the UK.

She has worked with gospel choirs, including singing, writing arrangements and directing and has sung with Ken Burton鈥檚 celebrated London Adventist Chorale.

How did you get involved in the show?

鈥淚 was asked if it was something which I would be interested in. I met the producers and they showed me some of the tapes of the choirs and I鈥檓 someone who loves choral singing and that big wall of sound. And just from the taster tape that they showed me I knew it would be something that I would be interested in. And having done Holby City for three and a half years, being away from music, it was just a way of getting back to music again for me. So it completely works, it鈥檚 something that I鈥檓 actually thrilled to be doing.鈥�

What can viewers expect from Last Choir Standing?

鈥淲ell I think one of the things is we haven鈥檛 really had much choral singing on the TV. There鈥檚 lots of individual singing and finding musical theatre stars but choirs have been overlooked and what we鈥檝e kind of seen throughout the audition process is that actually choirs are going on and have been doing their thing for a long time quite unnoticed. I think it will drag out of the wood work the amount of choirs that are actually out there that people really don鈥檛 know about. And I think that鈥檚 one of the most fantastic things about it - drawing choral singing to the public eye.

鈥淲e have a vast range of choirs. We鈥檝e got some kids from Coventry who are under 19, we鈥檝e got a police choir who鈥檝e been together for 51 years, there鈥檚 a ladies choirs - a choir from Dundee who are all ladies who got together after all their partners were made redundant. Singing together was a way of them healing and getting some kind of community together and supporting each other. So sometimes it鈥檚 not just about the singing it鈥檚 about the community - about a team of people, a team of people coming together, committing to each other, supporting each other and helping to get the best out of each other and enjoying singing as well.鈥�

What are you looking for from the choirs taking part?

鈥淎part from obviously sounding good, the choirs have got to get all their dynamics together. They鈥檝e got to be able to listen to each other. For me one of the joys of choral singing is to have that wall of sound, so being able to get a wall of sound - blending, listening, sounding good. And then I鈥檒l be looking for performance because I come from a musical theatre background, so I鈥檒l be looking at how do they communicate the words, do the words come across, does the emotion come across, do I really feel what they鈥檙e singing, are they moving, are they making me laugh, are they making me cry?

鈥淚 don鈥檛 want the choirs that sound fantastic to be completely boring to look at because they don鈥檛 move, because they don鈥檛 have any personality on their faces - I want to see personality coming through.鈥�

From what you鈥檝e seen so far what鈥檚 impressed you about the choirs which have auditioned?

鈥淭here are five choirs where immediately I think, you鈥檙e phenomenal - you already have the sound, the blend, the performance, you know how to get the lyrics across, you know how to show me that you鈥檙e enjoying yourself, you know how to show me the emotions and if you continue to grow in this way you鈥檙e going to be one of the five leaders who actually shows the other choirs how the standard is raised and what they should be looking for.鈥�

Have you got any advice for the choirs taking part?

鈥淪inging in front of a studio audience; there are going to be people who react immediately, it won鈥檛 be just the three judges. Having done something like Holby City, which is very studio led, I鈥檝e found that as a theatre actor I tend to play to the crew that are around me because they are my immediate audience and I judge stuff from how they react and adjust my performance accordingly because they are my viewers. I鈥檓 not someone who鈥檚 used to working in a TV studio in that way, so I鈥檝e learned all of that over my last three and a half years on Holby.

鈥淚鈥檓 an audience based performer so I will be totally looking at it to see how they deal with audiences because it鈥檚 my great love. I love to see the whites of people eyes, I love to feel that they are enjoying themselves, I love to feel when actually you鈥檝e lost an audience and you have to get them back and you have to pull all the stops out and challenge yourself in order to gain that audience back if you鈥檝e had a bit of a lull in the show. 鈥�

Have you ever sung in a choir?

鈥淚鈥檝e sung in choirs, I鈥檝e guest-ed in choirs. I did choir of the year with Ken Burton鈥檚 choir at the Albert Hall which was an absolutely joy because, as I said before, one of the things that I really love about a choir is that wall of sound and as an individual singer there is something completely different to singing with a chorus where you have a wall of music backing you up, inspiring you and lifting you higher in a way which doesn鈥檛 happen when you sing solo.鈥�

What kind of judge are will you be on the show?

鈥淚鈥檓 already the crying judge. For anyone who knows me that鈥檚 who I am. If something moves me it comes out of my eyes or I鈥檒l laugh - if it鈥檚 that fantastic I鈥檒l just laugh because there鈥檚 such joy there. But I think I鈥檒l be quite honest if someone doesn鈥檛 sound good, especially if you鈥檝e been through rounds with people and you鈥檝e thought god they鈥檙e fantastic and they have a not so great day I will be saying 鈥榳hat happened鈥� - I will be honest.

鈥淚鈥檓 there for the joy of music, the absolute joy and I just want to be moved. I want someone to move me to tears either because what they鈥檝e sung is so beautiful or because they鈥檝e grown so far and I think last week you sounded absolutely terrible and now I see where you鈥檝e put in the commitment and the joy - and I鈥檓 feeling it, and you鈥檝e made me feel it and I鈥檓 crying. That鈥檚 fantastic, that鈥檚 what I鈥檓 looking for. Move me - I just want to be moved!

Viewers will know you best or your role in Holby City but what do you enjoy most acting or singing?

鈥淚鈥檓 a performer and the kind of performer I am, I鈥檓 someone who enjoys both of those mediums. But I suppose if I was completely honest and said what my biggest joy is it would be singing. It鈥檚 so universal, you can put across any emotion with a song and you don鈥檛 have to understand the language. You look at something like the film Pretty Woman when Richard Gere takes Julia Roberts to the opera. She鈥檚 never been to the opera before; she doesn鈥檛 understand a word that鈥檚 being said but the emotion of the music moves her to absolute tears. I suppose that鈥檚 what it is about me - you don鈥檛 have to understand what someone鈥檚 singing or saying if the emotion comes across and it moves you.

鈥淚t鈥檚 also something that everybody wants to do regardless of what they do. It鈥檚 always one of the biggest things that I鈥檝e had said to me, 鈥榞od I wish I could sing鈥�. People don鈥檛 often say, 鈥榞od I wish I could act鈥�. For someone who does sing I think that鈥檚 a great gift and it鈥檚 not something that I鈥檝e ever, ever taken for granted. It鈥檚 one of the greatest joys of life, it鈥檚 one of the great ways to express yourself, it鈥檚 one of the great ways to release any pent up feelings you may have, it鈥檚 a great way to just celebrate and enjoy life!鈥�