HMS PINAFORE Plus a G & S Medley

This was a very pleasing performance by the Company and the entire Cast, Production Team and Stage Crew, under the Direction of Mike Clarke, must be congratulated in serving up an excellent programme.

The G & S Medley brought us many enjoyable moments, opening with a favourite from The Mikado, ‘Braid the raven hair’ sung by young Tilly Jordan and the ladies chorus Harmony was spot on ladies, and not be out done the gentlemen followed with a rousing ‘March of the Peers,’ from Iolanthe. It is at this point I must mention how wonderful to see so many youngsters in the G &S Chorus, full of confidence and enjoying themselves. Three of them, Chloe Collins, Hannah Owen and Layla Jones gave us another popular Gilbert & Sullivan trio, ‘Three little maids from school’, again from The Mikado. The male trio, Dave Robinson, Les Skilton and Mark Ward  gave us ‘Fair heart never won fair lady’ from Iolanthe, followed by a lovely  solo from Chris Clarke, supported by the ladies chorus, ‘When a merry maiden marries’ from The Gondoliers. Ian Hogg, Jackie Titley, John Bowen and Gaenor James shone with their contribution from Yeoman of the Guard, ‘I have a song to sing-o’. The penultimate contribution to the first half was the Finale from The Gondoliers delivered in fine voice by the Company, and the G & S Medley ended with a contribution from the Company themselves. Written by their director, Mike Clarke, we were treated to the premiere of the NMTC Anthem which was very well received by the audience.

HMS Pinafore is one of Gilbert & Sullivan’s shorter operettas, nevertheless very popular. A superb set, together with fabulous costumes, added much to the success of the piece. There were some excellent portrayals here, each character supported by an enthusiastic chorus. Lex Urry was perfectly cast as Ralph Rackstraw, the young hero of the hour, who coped well with all musical numbers and young though he is, rose to the challenge.  Josephine Bowen was a joy to listen to in the role of Josephine, her soprano voice was clear as a bell and she never faltered in any of her musical tasks. I always enjoy a performance from Emma Breeze, being so versatile, she can portray almost any character, and the role of Little Buttercup enhanced her reputation with this superb contribution to Musical Theatre. She was constantly in character throughout the performance acting the whole time onstage. An authoritative portrayal of Captain Corcoran was served up by Alex Oakey whilst Chris Clarke, Les Skilton and Dave Robinson were perfectly cast as Cousin Hebe, Boatswain and Carpenter respectively. The Director hit the mark with a sleazy characterization from Andrew Bond as the troublemaker Dead Eye Dick, and as well as directing the whole show, gave us a commanding, confident performance himself as Sir Joseph Porter.

The chorus of Sailors and Ladies were dominant in all their musical numbers, choreography was adequate, and the stage crew carried out their tasks without pause, thus culminating in a very successful entertainment.

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