"Singing the HIgh Seas"

Soon after arriving in Bridlington recently for the NODA North East Gala Weekend, I spotted the lifeboat out at sea. Thankfully, it seemed it was engaged on a training exercise rather than an emergency but I was reminded of the vital work carried out by the RNLI and that the organisation celebrates its 200th anniversary this year. It has always puzzled me that an island race such as ours relies on the efforts of volunteers for both the essential rescue work itself and the funds to finance it and this fund-raising event served as a further reminder of this, providing an entertaining evening in the process.

We were treated to an eclectic mix of music and monologues, all with a nautical connection. After the full company wished us all a "Bon voyage" from Cole Porter's "Anything Goes", Adam Stewart, chair of the group, recalled the story of "the Lion and Albert", which, after all, took place in "a famous seaside place called Blackpool". Another piece by Marriott Edgar featured later as Linda Young told us of Mr. and Mrs. Noah's troubles with "the 'ole in the ark". The story of the Little Mermaid was followed by the song "Under the sea" from Alan Menken's musical of that name and there were various references to the fate of        S.S. Titanic. A letter from a passenger on the ill-fated voyage was especially poignant as it sympathised with a would-be voyager who had been forced to cancel, little knowing that a dose of 'flu seemed to have saved her from far worse a fate. This followed Helen (Bells) Spencer's excellent rendition of the Celine Dion song from the famous film of the disaster.

There were excerpts from "H.M.S. Pinafore" with a fine performance of Captain Corcoran's welcome to his crew by Nick Sephton, preceded by Sir Joseph Porter's tale of his rapid elevation from office boy to "ruler of the Queen's navee". Unusually, this was performed as a poem by Simon Burdett; don't tell my friends in     G & S circles but I enjoyed its separation from Sullivan's music and the way in which this enabled us better to appreciate the wit of Gilbert's words. Jess Roy is apparently a devotee of swimming in lakes and rivers as well as the sea and, after her song "Wade in the water" earlier in the show, had written an amusing sketch "Wild swimming in the Wharfe" which was well performed by herself and four more members of the company. A song simply but appropriately called "Lifeboat" from the recent musical "Heathers" was nicely sung by Cath Hopkins with support from other members of the cast in excellent choreography in this and other items by Megan Hanson.

Marie Clinker reminded us that the owl and the pussycat did, of course, go off to sea in a particularly colourful way and enabled us to enjoy the humour of Edward Lear's words whilst Henry Fairnington gave a thoughtful performance of Simon and Garfunkel's "Bridge over troubled water". The second half of the show had a few examples of sea shanties, including a "Sailor's alphabet" and, although "a" for anchor was perhaps to be expected, we were surprised to learn that "z" was for somebody called "Zoe and her fancy man". Another, "Shipping up to Boston" was adapted so as to refer to a similarly-named place down the road and later Nick Sephton told us to ensure we "Don't forget your old shipmate". I am sure we won't, especially after hearing of various experiences of those who had been rescued by the RNLI in pieces presumably taken from their archives. These were perfect, thought-provoking reminders of their work and were all delivered with great thought and meaning by the various members of the cast involved. This was particularly true of a reading by Cath Hopkins of a letter from the pregnant Virginia Christofferson to the father of her child, followed by her heartfelt, unaccompanied rendition of "My Bonnie lies over the ocean".

The programme ended with a boisterous version of the tale of the "Drunken Sailor" in which the afore-mentioned chair of the group must have been celebrating not only his rescue from his adventures with the lion but also the success of the entire event. This was in no small measure down to the inspiration of Phoebe Breeze in collecting the various items and then accompanying the musical items on piano, with assistance from Emma Stewart on flute and Katherine Ingle on clarinet. The stage, including its frontage, was decorated with RNLI flags and various items of a nautical flavour. One hopes that a lifeboat will never be required in Wetherby or, indeed, anywhere on Yorkshire's rivers but I am sure we shall better appreciate the work of their brave crews next time we see them at the coast.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.