H.M.S. Pinafore

I was accompanied on my visit to this production by a friend who had never previously seen any of the works by the Gilbert & Sullivan performed. So many words, so many notes, so many participants involved! How do they cope with it all he asked? I explained that members of an amateur dramatic  society are required to devote a great deal of their time, share an enormous amount of their respective talents and work as a team if they wish to deliver a successful performance like the one that we had just witnessed, including members of the back-stage crew, who though unseen, provide  essential support.

Since its first performance on 25th May 1878, this comic opera was amazingly successful in highlighting the ridiculous extent to which class consciousness determined the social structure of Victorian England, especially concerning marriage. Gilbert’s libretto contains a huge amount of humour and Sullivan’s music has an abundance of jolly and uplifting tunes. In this production there were distinguished performances from a corps of experienced principals which included Doug Coleman (as Captain Corcoran), James Coleman (as Ralph Rackstraw), Paul Connor (as Dick Deadeye), John Carter (as Bill Bobstay), Ray Ratty (as Bob Becket), Charlotte Coggin (as Josephine) and Jane Richardson (as ‘Little Buttercup’). Stephen Blanchard (as Sir Joseph Porter) and Heather Walker (as Hebe) coped extremely well in their respective roles, clearly demonstrating their potential to undertake challenging principal parts in the future; it was also heartening to see Joe Williams perform as Midshipmite Tom Tucker, for we certainly need to have more young people involved if we are to continue being able to produce G&S productions of such quality. There was excellent support from the chorus of Sailors, Sisters, Cousins and Aunts who were appropriately costumed and there was a good sound balance between their vocals and the musicians. Adam Bishop’s skilful direction ensured the comic aspects of this show were highlighted which was much appreciated by the audience. Well done all who were involved in this production.

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