Patience

Who says appearances don’t matter? Well certainly not Gilbert & Sullivan, Patience is one of their least well-known shows and pokes fun at the fickleness of popular tastes and the pretentiousness of self-styled artists. Any group tackling the crazy world of Gilbert and Sulliven certainly enjoy hard work and to make it an extra challenge, UK Foundation for Dance decided to set the show in modern day, with a contemporary look and occasional introduction of modern references, and wow how they delivered. The show was bright and full of comedic energy with audiences giggling throughout at not only the well delivered dialogue and singing but also the mannerisms and quirks of each character.

Tim Tubbs and Ben Scott as Co-directors did an excellent job at exploring the complicated show and adding a modern twist to every little detail. The staging was simple yet very effective, with the whole show being set in Patience’s Book Fest and Bar. The stage was also nicely finished off with two portraits of Gilbert and Sullivan framing it. The costumes were well thought out and made the themes of aesthetic movement throughout the piece flow nicely. Both sound and lighting were also exceptionally done with flawless transitions. For an opening night it ran seamlessly and if there were any mistakes it certainly wasn’t apparent.

The music of Patience is charming and light, marked by Sullivan’s signature blend of wit and lyrical elegance that the Production team, including Dave Blaker, interwove with up-to-date references so expertly , which unless you knew the show, wouldn’t seem out of place. The score features catchy, playful melodies that complement the opera's satirical tone, with waltzes, marches, and lyrical ballads that parody both sentimental love songs and the self-indulgent aestheticism of the period that the talented cast threw themselves into tenfold. Jan Burtenshaw-Scott as musical  director has led the charge in what can only  be described as a fabulous mastery of the score and led the cast to deliver outstanding musicality . This was accompanied by two keyboards  played by Bill Scott and Andrew  Davison  which cleverly used  different instrument voices to replace  an orchestra  .

As well as directing Tim Tubbs portrayed the melodramatic and eccentric Reginald Bunthorne and   blossomed in this tortured artist role. His rival Archibald Grosvenor was portrayed by Andrew Clay who is characterised as effortlessly charming and genuinely handsome. The pair worked well together to portray the battle of the ‘Fleshly poet’ and the ‘Idealic poet’ which was definitely shown in the pairs duet ‘When I Go Out the Door’. No Gilbert and Sullivan show would be complete without the Soprano leading lady and in this show the title character. This was played by the extremely talented Rebecca Kelly-Evans who not only had a beautiful singing voice, but also brought a great deal of comedic value to the role which sometimes gets lost  with the leading lady  .

The comedic acting didn’t stop with our leading lady. The harem of Literary Ladies also brought an exaggerated devotion for comedic effect, highlighting the fickleness and artificiality of aesthetic adulation. This group was led by Alex Weatherhill playing Lady Jane, who was fabulous and shone brighter every time he came on stage and gave a  hilarious rendition of ‘Silver’d Is the Raven Hair’ at the start of Act 2. The over the top worshipful manner was carried on by the three featured actresses of Lady Angela played by Helen Cox, Lady Saphir played by Lesley Machen and Lady Ella played by Linda Polkowski who all performed wonderfully and really showed their combined talent in the song ‘ Literary Ladies We’ at the opening of the show. The Literary Ladies were made complete with the wonderful Liz David, Ruth Hutt, Pauline Newman and Louise Stanway.

With so many talented women the show needed some equally talented men as well as the two previously mentioned. These took the form of the members of the 35th Dragoon Guards.  These gentleman were priceless and yet again brought light hearted frivolity to the evening. Colonel Calverley portrayed by Dave Blaker, Major Murgatroyd played by Rick Switzer-Green The Duke of Dinstable played by Hilary Wattz as well as Roger Crowther and Micheal O’Brien were a lovely quintet to form the rigidly hapless guards and added their own type of humour to round of the show.

I think the true testament to how brilliant this show was, was by the standing ovation they received at the end. The amazingly fabulous world of Gilbert and Sullivan is a hard genera for any amateur group to complete , yet UK Foundation for Dance handled it like professionals. Their singing performance was second to none and comedic value exceptional. Every member of cast stood out for their individual merits, yet formed a cohesive wonderful medley of talent that made the show shine in the modern era. I hope this fabulous group tackle another show of the same ilk and if they do, I shall be first in line to get my ticket. Definitely one not to miss!

 

 

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