A CONCERT in aid of the Open Road wowed and educated audiences with the help of soprano Laura Wright.

The concert held on Wednesday at the Mercury Theatre was in aid of Open Road, a Colchester-based charity which supports individuals and families with addiction issues, particularly drugs and alcohol.

Laura Wright, an internationally acclaimed mezzo soprano who is also famous singing anthems before major sporting events around the world, performed at the family-friendly event.

Laura and her three-piece band performed music from Carmen in addition to songs made famous by Dolly Parton, Adele and Carole King.

Aria Close, a drag violinist performed individually, including a medley from Phantom of the Opera, and then joined Laura and the band for a cover of Christina Perri song, ‘A Thousand Years’.

Singer - Soprano Singer Laura WrightSinger - Soprano Singer Laura Wright (Image: Laura Lewis)

This was followed by a comedic turn from the Mary Poppins Tribute UK, Colchester’s, Nicola Goodchild, who sang the classic songs ‘A Spoonful of Sugar’ and ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ with an audience member.

Laura also joined Mary Poppins for a rendition of ‘Feed the Birds’.

There were also three speakers, Anita, Sara and Pinky, who are all on their journeys to recovery, after being helped and supported by Open Road, moving “many in the audience to tears”.

Open Road’s Tim Young organised and hosted the event.

He said: “We, at Open Road, are so grateful to Laura Wright, her fantastic band, Aria Close, Mary Poppins Tribute UK and our speakers for making this event so special and successful.

“There was a large and appreciative audience who enjoyed a wonderful evening of entertainment combined with emotion and information about Open Road."

Mr Young also thanked The Mercury Theatre for the use the auditorium, which was at no charge, and to the charity’s generous sponsor Streets Whittles Chartered Accountants.

He added: “We have raised thousands of pounds for Open Road which will go towards transforming more lives and helping individuals and families on their journeys to recovery from addiction.”