Ruddigore

This show opened with a wonderful piano overture, excellently performed and it was a shame there was no applause upon its conclusion. This set the tone for the professional quality of the music throughout the show.

The same could be said for the quality of the set from Paul Lazell, with the stage crew doing very well to fit seven ancestors’ portraits on this small stage, the layout of these worked well. The costumes from Lichfield Costumes were also very good, although one of the male members of the chorus had a Jacket that was a poor fit and an unusual choice of hat, this did unfortunately stand out. It was also a shame that Robin Oakapple had a problem with his plus fours alongside his socks being too short and modern shoes, Tessa (the NODA Councillor) with whom I sat with commented on this to me in particular. The lighting design was suitable for the production, with the darkness for the scene where the ancestors came alive.

The opening overture brought on the bridesmaids who did very little for several minutes before the opening number of Fair is the Rose. The singing of this small ensemble sang their hearts out throughout the show and tittered game fully with each other when they were required as company but not required to sing.

The quality of the singing throughout the show was of a high standard, the principals in particular, Andy Hiles as Richard Dauntless and John Torr as Sir Despard Murgatroyd for the men and Denise Bridge as Mad Margaret and Julie Bjerregaard as Dame Hannah gave good performances, both with their stage presence and persona. Denise gave a sterling performance as Mad Margaret.

Gilbert and Sullivan is not to every ones taste as can be seen by the ages of nearly all the company. Having said this the however this was mostly a lively production, Andy in particular being light on his feet and John dominating the stage in his role as Sir Despard, bringing entertainment with their performances.

However, these performances were overshadowed by the younger performers Ian Gooda as Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd (Robin Oakapple) and Ellie Hiam as Rose Maybud who both gave good performances both with their dialogue and acting and with their vocal range and ability bringing a welcome ‘youthfulness’ to the production, this pair worked well together. 

Just a couple of comments, knowing Ian to be Canadian I can understand the Canadian flag being waved but it may have bemused many in the audience, I had my doubts about the make-up for the Ancestors and heard a couple of comments about this.

Despite the restrictions of the company size the director, choreographer Julie, together with musical director Simon Bower have provided a well performed show for their core audience.

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