Pirates of Penzance

This whole production was light-hearted, bright, pacey and very different.  Surprise, surprise, it was set in a small boys bedroom. Father was reading him a story about pirates, then settled him to sleep and left him dreaming.  His dream lasted the full length of the show with the cast making use of the bed as a very useful prop/platform and the wardrobe a very different entrance and hiding place. The story was set during an excellent rousing overture with pirates creeping on from all directions, finding all the cutlasses and guns in the chest at the end of the bed. Musically, under the leadership of Keith Smithers, everything came together and there were no weak links. Lighting was mostly good with the Sound well-balanced. I was very pleased to see that even the men’s chorus were unusually animated – the whole cast really gave their all. Simon Smith was a suitably swash-buckling Pirate King, his whole persona was totally what you’d expect and very full-on – I enjoyed his portrayal very much. Musically he gave strength and meaning to the numbers. Graham Carton as Frederic has a lovely voice that translated well to the part. He turned in a good performance showing the uncertainties of his position, and his growing relationship with Mabel. David Martin made a good Major General showing a commanding presence and a weakness of character. His uniform gave him the imposing figure he needed against the motley crew of Pirates. Emily Dadson was Ruth, Frederic’s nursemaid, who harboured thoughts of becoming his wife, until he discovered the joys of younger ladies. She acted the part really well, and held her own in some tricky musical numbers as did the daughters Frances Robins, Mandy Dukes and Hannah Butler. who were a good match for each other, very charming, bright and sparkling. All the other charming daughters looked delightful, moved and sang exceptionally well were costumed beautifully and gave the whole production a further lift when they entered the stage. Gudrun Lehmann-Shanks was an entirely charming Mabel, she sang it beautifully, and the feel of the piece showed off her style of voice well. I enjoyed her performance very much, and the relationship between her and Frederic was tangible. Jimmy Lynch was an exceedingly amusing Sergeant of Police. I loved his characterisation and he led his police troop with panache. They got some really good sounds and looks, which contrasted with the pirates. I would also like to mention Daniel Paine’s first stage appearance as Samuel.  He sang very well and coped with a rather wilful parrot like a pro. This was a very unusual interpretation of a really well known show with  humour and a wealth of excellent sounds from an enthusiastic cast. I was very impressed and thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

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