Holby City and Doctor Who star Sharon D Clarke has revealed she is having treatment for cancer. The 60-year-old actress, known for her role as doctor Lola Griffin on BBC's Holby City, announced that her diagnosis has meant she has had to postpone her latest acting role.
Postponement of Othello
Clarke had been set to appear in the Royal Shakespeare Company's (RSC) new production of Othello, which was due to run between February 13 and April 3 next year in Stratford-upon-Avon. However, the show dates have been pushed back while she undergoes treatment, and it is not yet known when it will return.
The RSC confirmed Clarke's decision to step back, saying she will be “taking some time and space she needs to undertake treatment”.
Clarke's statement
Clarke said: "I would like to thank all the beautiful people at the RSC for their understanding, love, support and healing energy. Othello will be my north star as I undergo treatment."
She also thanked her family and wife Susie McKenna for their support, adding: "Susie, my family and I are overwhelmed, humbled and buoyed by the tidal wave of love that we have received and are so blessed to have an army of strength and support to hold us up. Love and thanks to my beautiful people."
Director and RSC response
Monique Touko, the show's director, said: "On behalf of the entire creative team, we send Sharon all the love for her ongoing treatment and recovery. As a director, I have been incredibly blessed to collaborate with Sharon on this major reframing of Shakespeare’s tragedy, which reimagines Shakespeare’s Othello through the lens of misogynoir. Her generosity and passion for this project continues to astound me and I look forward to us coming back together when the time is right to share this production with the world."
The RSC's co-artistic directors, Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey, said: "Sharon is, in every sense of the word, a warrior and, we know she will meet this challenge with the unwavering strength and indomitable spirit that she brings to so many aspects of her life and work."
Production details
The decision to postpone the show was difficult, made because Clarke is 'integral' to the adaptation. The RSC described the production as “set in a climate-threatened future in which a Black lesbian holds a seat of power”, reimagining Shakespeare’s story “through the lens of misogynoir, as an unsanctioned marriage perilously crosses boundaries of race, sex and status, allowing jealousy, suspicion and malign intent to close in.”
