Out and About with G & S

Out and About with G&S a concert staged by Hoghton Players at Holy Trinity Church Hall, Manchester Road, Southport on Saturday, 21st May, 2022.

Journey around the world with songs from Gilbert and Sullivan. If I may open this review by using part of what was written in Hoghton Players programme… “We all like to get ‘out and about’ – especially after more than two years of repeated lockdowns and so many restrictions.  Whether it’s a leisurely stroll in your local park or a month spent trekking in the Himalayas, a sense of freedom can be a very powerful thing.  Even though they are fictional characters, the individuals populating the operas of Gilbert and Sullivan can readily share those same feelings”.

So true!  I’ve spent those past two years trying to reassure/communicate by email, by message, by telephone, by social media and by Zoom Meetings (something I’d never even heard of before lockdown) with all the societies in District 6. The lack of freedom… the non-direct contacted with ‘loved ones’, ‘relatives’, ‘friends’, ‘colleagues’, ‘fellow actors’… etc has all taken its toll!  The fear of the unknown has been overwhelming for some!  I know having communicated with Isobel Cope from Hoghton Players over this period, that the above has been a major cause of concern for the society as with many others… BUT… there is now a ‘light at the end of that tunnel’… just being at Holy Trinity Church that night, you could see and feel those concerns lifting… the sense of ‘freedom’ returning…great night folks, great night, be ever so proud… Hoghton Players are back!

To stage any type of production, be it a musical, play, concert or review takes a vast amount of time, leadership and dedication; there is little doubt that Hoghton Players are blessed with many dedicated and experienced theatre people who have helped achieve that. So, many congratulations for this entertaining concert to the Production Team of Ian Dunning (Musical Director), whose expertise was evident throughout, to Ann Dickinson MBE (Concert Accompanist) and to Ian Wells assisted by Dermot Coghlan (Performance Narrators), who helped us through the understanding of the pieces performed throughout the evening; their expertise and knowledge was more than evident throughout and helped bring the best out of the talented cast.

The production was in two acts…
Act One: ‘Ruddigore’ - ‘Welcome, gentry’ (Ladies and Gentlemen of the Chorus); ‘The Mikado’ - ‘Gentlemen, I pray you tell me… A wandering minstrel I’ (Dermot Coghlan, Peter Dunning and the Gentlemen’s Chorus); ‘Come a train of little ladies… Three little maids’ (Ladies of the Chorus; Pat Maitland, Alison Davies and Caroline Grindley);  ‘Alone and Yet Alive’ (Alison Davies)  ‘Trial by Jury’ -  ‘Hark the hour of ten is sounding... now jurymen’ (Ladies and Gentleman of the Chorus and Ian Dunning)  ‘Iolanthe’ - ‘Invocation’ (Sue Lee, Caroline Grindley, Irene Baker, Sue Wells – Ladies of the Chorus); ‘My well-loved lord and guardian dear - Blue Blood’ (Gwyneth Farrar, Ray Dutton, Dermot Coghlan, Peter Dunning and Gentlemen of the Chorus); ‘The Zoo’ – ‘The British public’ (Ladies and Gentlemen of the Chorus); ‘Cox & Box’ - ‘My Master is punctual’ (Peter Dunning);  ‘Utopia Limited’ -  ‘In lazy Ianguor’ (Pat Maitland and Ladies of the Chorus); ‘The Yeoman of the Guard’ - ‘Here’s a man of jollity… I have a song to sing O!’ (Pat Maitland, Dermot Coghlan, Ladies and Gentlemen of the Chorus) ‘The prisoner comes to meet his doom’ (Ladies and Gentlemen of the Chorus, Gwyneth Farrer, Caroline Grindley, Sue Lee, Dermot Coghlan, Dennis Davis, Ray Dutton, Peter Dunning, Ian Dunning.) 

Act Two: ‘The Sorcerer’ - ‘Ring forth ye bells’ (Ladies and Gentlemen of the Chorus); ‘HMS Pinafore’ - ‘Ove the bright blue sea/Sir Joseph’s barge is seen’ (Ladies and Gentlemen of the Chorus) ‘The hours creep on apace’ (Gwyneth Farrer); ‘The Sorcerer’ - ‘Tis twelve, I think… Why, where be Oi?’ (Gwyneth Farrer, Dermot Coghlan, Peter Dunning + Ladies and Gentlemen of the Chorus); ‘Ruddigore’ - ‘Painted emblems… When the night wind howls’ (Gentlemen of the Chorus and Peter Dunning, Ray Dutton); ‘Thespis’ -  ‘Climbing over rocky mountains’ (Ladies and Gentlemen of the Chorus, Pat Maitland and Sue Wells) ‘The Pirates of Penzance’ – ‘How beautifully blue the sky’ (Gwyneth Farrer, Ray Dutton and Ladies of the Chorus) ‘The Gondoliers’ - ‘From the sunny Spanish shore’ (Gwyneth Farrer, Caroline Grindley, Ray Dutton + Peter Dunning); ‘Here we are at risk of our Lives’ – Ladies and Gentlemen of the Chorus, Carol Chamberlain, Sue Lee, Gwyneth Farrer, Pat Maitland)  ‘Then away we go to an island fair’ (Ladies + Gentlemen of the Chorus, Gwyneth Farrer, Pat Maitland, Dermot Coghlan, Peter Dunning)

The Company… Irene Baker, Diane Beirne, Mary Brocklehurst, Margaret Carden, Carol Chamberlain, Isobel Cope, Alison Davies, Caroline Grindley, Gwyneth Farrer, Sue Lee, Pam Luscombe, Pat Maitland, Pauline Spencer, Olwen Walsh, Sue Wells, Jean Whiteley, Dermot Coghlan, Dennis Davis, Peter Dunning, Ray Dutton, Tim Foy, Alan Hood, Mike Lomax, Clive Purchase, David Sidey and Ian Wells.

At some point in my reviews, I usually stick my neck out and start selecting my favourite performances or in this case it would be my favourite songs… but there are occasions, this being one of them, where that seems totally inappropriate… because in my opinion the winner that evening was Amateur Theatre, Gilbert and Sullivan and more importantly Hoghton Players!  Just to see you guys back on stage, those big smiles, the great humour, the wonderful banter between those ‘Crazy Tenors and the MD’, you guys just enjoying yourselves was without doubt my FAVOURITE PERFORMANCE…

Thank you once again for inviting my wife and I and thank you for such an amazing evening; it really is a pleasure to visit Hoghton Players and I can’t wait to see you on the 29th October for a good old sing song!

Stay safe and keep well…

Jim Briscoe
NODA NW
District 6 Rep

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