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Show: The Pirates of Penzance
Society: Richmond Theatre (professional)
Venue: Richmond Theatre
Credits: Gilbert & Sullivan. Produced by Regan De Wynter and Hilary A. Williams.
Type: Sardines
Author: Chris Abbott
Performance Date: 16/04/2015
The Pirates of Penzance
Chris Abbott | 16 Apr 2015 23:32pm
The Savoy operas of Gilbert and Sullivan have shown themselves to be well able to respond to new approaches or unconventional versions, from jazz or political versions of The Mikado to Broadway takes on The Pirates of Penzance.
It is Pirates that Sasha Regan takes on here, in a further UK tour of the show that began her series of all-male G&S productions and has recently visited Australia. For an older generation of British males, such casting traditions are deeply nostalgic; many boys’ grammar schools put on the operas regularly until the 1960s with not a female cast member to be seen. There was usually an attempt at dissembling however, with much wearing of wigs and make-up, but that is not the approach taken here. These are men playing the parts of women, truthfully and sincerely, but without the trappings of drag.
This is essentially an ensemble production, finely tuned and firing on all cylinders, but it would seem churlish not to mention the fresh-faced and tuneful Frederic of Samuel Nunn, a professional debut, playing opposite Alan Richardson’s confident and totally convincing Mabel in a take on the role which manages to avoid the tedium that can accompany some of Gilbert’s heroines, and beautifully sung too.
Gilbert’s roles for older women, of course, are deeply problematic and misogynist by present-day standards, and it is one of the many benefits of this all-male production that Alex Weatherhill manages to make Ruth not just sympathetic and convincing but also not offensive to modern sensitivities. He is also, like so many of the cast, a gifted comic performer.
Neil Moors as the Pirate King provides a more thoughtful sea-dog than is usual; and Miles Western provides a fairly traditional Major General and copes well with the patter songs, all the better without their tedious encores or ineffective additions.
The whole company switch from portraying the daughters to pirates or policemen in seconds, with the deft addition of items of clothing or moustaches on sticks and Cornish accents. Characterisation is vastly enhanced by the witty, inventive and entertaining choreography from Lizzi Gee, with director Sasha Regan making good use of Robyn Wilson’s minimal but effective set.
The singing, of a very high standard throughout and – wonder of wonders – unamplified but crystal clear even in a venue as large as the Richmond Theatre – is further enhanced by the hard-working single member of the orchestra, Musical Director David Griffiths. As a result, the audience hear every word – most of them by Gilbert – and the humour of the piece is reclaimed and reinvented: this is a very funny production which is a delight from beginning to end.
Visit piratesisback.com to find out whether the show is coming to a theatre near you – and don’t miss this vastly entertaining and original reinvention of a venerable opera.
- : admin
- : 16/04/2015