Ruddigore

A good orchestra opened the evening’s entertainment. Ruddigore tells the story of a family of Baronets whose eldest son is cursed to commit a daily crime or else he will die horribly.

I thought that the scenery was very good indeed, the excellent Cornish backdrop of the first act with the castle, gave way later to the lovely picture gallery in Act Two. The principles worked hard and did a good job, Alec Taylor turned in a smooth Robin Oakapple, changing very effectively to Sir Ruthven as did Jolyon Stephenson in the role of Richard Dauntless, he was roguishly funny, especially in his dealings with Rose Maybud and he sang well. Rachel Mercer was all innocence and naïve as Rose, consulting her book of etiquette at every turn, she got much humour from her role and as always sang beautifully. Mad Margaret was played by Sue Richardson, this was the first time I had seen Sue play this part, and I thought she gave a strong performance from the outset with good singing and characterisation. Two very nice performances came from Janet Thompson and John Reid as Dame Hannah and Old Adam, along with Graham Beevers as a super Sir Roderic. The chorus sang well, and I thought the bridesmaids looked good, sang well and were really funny. Angela Dixon was excellent, what a beautiful voice, and well done for helping out when Dame Hannah had vocal problems,  I hope Janet is feeling much better now. Also a strong performance came from Tom Beck as Sir Despard.

This really was a colourful production, I really enjoyed my evening with you all. Thank you.

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