Patience

Patience satirizes very strongly the late 19th Century aesthetic craze embodied by the likes of Oscar Wilde, Whistler and Swinburne. The dialogue is exceedingly witty throughout, though it does help to have a smattering of knowledge about the Aesthetic Movement, which of course contemporary audiences would have had. Nevertheless, this KASJOG production certainly brought out all the humour exceedingly well. The music is full of richness, with some beautiful songs and great patter numbers, and KASJOG really did it justice.

A very good programme was provided, with plenty to read, containing a concise, useful synopsis; interesting cast profiles; a list of past productions; a whole page on the Aesthetic Movement; a glossary of terms to aid our understanding of the text and some characters of the time who appear in it; a piece on KASJOG’s history and activities, all very interesting. Moreover, we had short pieces also on the Production and Front of House team; a whole page on NODA; and details of next year’s production to whet our appetites! This all greatly enhanced the audience’s appreciation of the piece.

The curtain opened onto a gloriously beautiful view of the exterior of Castle Bunthorne, and for Act 2 we were treated to a delightful view onto the castle gardens and lake. In front of a raised platform were glorious flowers displayed in pots and tubs. This was all a feast for the eyes, and that was before we had set sight of the glorious costumes to come! Props were musical instruments, string and woodwind, carried by our 20 lovesick maidens, and long-stemmed flowers, including typically for the movement, lilies and sunflowers. Lighting was very efficient throughout, no great effects were needed, as only glorious sunshine was required.

I was so impressed by the stunningly beautiful, and simple, aesthetic dress worn by the lovesick maidens. Aesthetic dress was a rebellion against the tightly corseted, and therefore unhealthy, typical Victorian gowns. The emphasis was on loose clothing, so our ladies were kitted out in loose, ankle-length skirts, and comfortable, but oh so pretty, long tunics made from Liberty and other typical patterned fabric of the time. Flowered headdresses, all different, from which often draped flowing scarves, completed the look. Delightful!

The gents’ aesthetic outfits were no less splendid, all velvet jackets and cloaks, flowing Liberty-type fabric bows at the neck, medieval style caps, knickerbockers, buckled shoes. When not clutching a flower, they were wafting an elegant handkerchief about.

The attention to detail was marvellous. In Act 2, of course, Archibald became a normal gentleman again, sporting an ordinary 3-piece tweed suit and bowler hat. Some of his admiring ladies then donned elegant tight-waisted Victorian gowns. The gentlemen of the chorus looked fine in their red uniforms, but astonishingly beautiful when they too donned aesthetic clothing.

Musical Director David Chapman created a fine balance of sound, with the small but excellent orchestra never drowning out the singers. I read that this was his first outing as MD for KASJOG – let us hope the first of many.

Having feasted our eyes on the set, the 20 lovesick maidens languidly arrived on stage with the excellent Ladies Angela (Heather Cartwright) and Ella (Carrie Price) taking the lead, in the lilting ballad: ‘Twenty lovesick maidens we’, which is still going round in my head. On came the down-to-earth dairy-maid Patience, clad in a simple yet charming Dirndl, wondering what all this mooning around was about: ‘Still brooding on their mad infatuation’, and realising with horror that she herself knows not what love can be. Giselle Thorne acted this delightful innocent country girl, exasperated and puzzled by all that was going on around her, to perfection throughout the performance.

The doughty military men arrived, and the colonel (Mark Lewis) gave us a fine rendering of the exceedingly complicated patter song: ‘If you want a receipt for that popular mystery’, where we were very glad of our glossary later, the fast-paced song allowing the colonel to take hardly a breath. Marvellous performance!

The languid Duke, bemoaning his lot on £1000 a day, fed up with being treated with such deference, flattery and adulation, ’having to live on toffee for breakfast, dinner and tea’, was a fine comic turn by Kevin Chapman. What great humour there is in Gilbert and Sullivan, especially Patience, and KASJOG’s fine cast excelled.

Finally we met the object of our lovesick maidens’ ardour – Bunthorne, the poet, this ‘melancholy literary man’, who seems intent on ignoring them as he composes and finally finishes his poem with a flourish. James Palmer gave us a fantastic Bunthorne, so well-acted, so well-sung, full of energy (when he didn’t need to be doleful) and character. A 10/10 performance here, that I shall not forget.

The scene where Bunthorne reads his poem to the utterly confused and quite indifferent Patience, with rapturous reception by the maidens, which in its turn causes horrified astonishment in the watching dragoons, wondering whatever has come over their fiancees, is a scene of high comedy indeed, and once again the strong cast brought out every inch of it here.

And so this wonderful production bounded along – good pace and timing; good attention to detail; great characterisation; good use of the stage; a very good principal line-up, which was very well balanced – altogether a fine thing.

Poor Patience, quite confused at this idea of love, then met dear childhood friend Archibald, after an absence of 14 years. Archibald Grosvenor, this young man who had jumped on the Aesthetic bandwagon, was delightfully played by Michael Crow. He seemed to genuinely delight in Patience, and he too brought out all the necessary humour. He was in fine voice, and his acting prowess came to the fore in his total transformation to an ordinary chap, in tweeds and bowler, in the final stages of Act 2.

There were so many highlights, too many to mention all. But here are a few which impressed me greatly. The Duke’s solo: ‘Your maiden hearts, ah, do not steel’ with his exhortations to his fellow soldiers; ‘Sigh, all sigh!’ ‘Kneel, all kneel!’ – which last was ably executed by these plucky fellows! The Lady Jane’s solo whilst playing the cello: ‘Sad is that woman’s lot’. The dottiness of the scene with Grosvenor and Patience in Act 2, where both are totally confused and perplexed, brilliant! The duet with Bunthorne and Lady Jane: Say go to him and say to him’ was marvellous. Finally, the duet with Grosvenor and Bunthorne: ‘When I go out of door’. Of course, the text, the words are exquisitely funny, but not every cast could perform Patience is such a fine way. By the same token, the music and melodies, languid or jolly, sad or lively, not every chorus and group of principals could perform them so well or with such style. In such a humorous piece, clarity of diction is essential, and KASJOG did us proud.

Val Hitchcock’s direction was superb, casting was excellent, the tableaux she created with the languid maidens surrounding and fawning upon the two poets delighted our eyes; pace and timing were fine. As I said to her after the show: ‘You and the KASJOG team have given a great many people a very happy and joyful evening.’

  

  

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