Pirates of Penzance

The joy of any Gilbert and Sullivan operetta is that they are out of copyright, giving the ability to change and mould the music and lyrics to suit the group or the director’s vision. This group grabbed this opportunity to ‘modernise’ the music by changing the tempo and rhythms of many of the songs, to appeal to a wider audience. We had disco rhythms, calypso, a 3/4 and many other variations but some were more successful than others. However, as the band were placed at the back of the stage, it left the cast with the difficult task of knowing when to start singing without the assistance of a musical director. Some of the tempo changes were quite sudden and the new beat had not established itself, resulting in a few missed starts by the cast. The new rhythms were also not always appropriate for the mood of the song and so sometimes the drama or romance of the piece was lost. Similarly, cuts to the music were not as well disguised as they could have been.  However, all that said it is always a delight to see people trying out new ways of delivering old standards and the more up tempo numbers were appreciated by the audience.

There were also quite a few technical issues during the performance, with the mics going out on several occasions and also the house lights turning on in the middle of scenes (to the obvious bewilderment of the cast on stage). However, the tech team resolved these issues quickly and the cast valiantly ploughed on, with their energy and commitment lifting the show considerably. 

The performance space is very small and quite challenging due to a lack of entrances and exits. The simple set made the most of the space with some painted flats and well chosen props to depict the Cornish coastline in the first act.  In the second act the ruined chapel was brought to life with some nicely painted gravestones engraved with the names of various G&S characters.  Costumes were simple but effective and the choreography was well suited to the cast.

The Pirate King played by Tim had a lovely rich voice and great stage presence. His dialogue was delivered with confidence and his rendition of ‘I am a Pirate King’ with bass guitar was nicely done and definitely one of the show’s more successful musical re-workings. 

Matin as Frederick had a very pleasing tenor voice and also acted well.  There was a good connection with Mabel, played by Emily, who had a lovely soprano voice. She was at ease with the coloratura in ‘Poor Wand’ring One’ reaching all the top notes and sang the challenging cadenzas with a flourish. Very accomplished performances from both actors.

Mandy as Ruth acted well although struggled with some of her dialogue and songs. I understand she took on the role at short notice, so might well have had less rehearsal time than the rest of the cast.  However, she still gave a convincing portrayal of the character, particularly in her scenes with Frederic in the first Act.  

Likewise, Neil looked and acted the very model of a modern Major General but unfortunately, he stumbled his way through perhaps the most famous G&S patter-song so we missed most of Gilbert’s funny lyrics.  However, he recovered well and did a great job in the amusing ‘orphan’ dialogue with the Pirate King which followed. 

The Sergeant of police, Steve, was very good and gave very enjoyable performances of ‘A Policeman’s lot’ and ‘When a Felon’. His band of policemen were suitably comical and had a good energy.

If the vocal harmonies weren’t always pristine, the chorus performed with exuberance and good humour and were obviously enjoying the comedy and characterisation needed for the show. The director was right to take some risks and overall there was much to enjoy in this production, which was warmly received by the audience. Congratulations to all involved. 

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