Starship Pinafore and Trial by Jury

I have to admit to never seeing either of these Gilbert and Sullivan musicals before but after  previously watching Tony Brett’s ‘Pirates of Penzance’ where he placed the musical cleverly and imaginatively in a museum, I was eager to see what he would do to give a new twist to his productions. I was not to be disappointed.

Trial by Jury – a one act comic opera, commonly set in a courtroom, was now transposed to a wood, where the jury were woodland creatures and the chorus nursery characters. The Learned Judge (Patrick O Brien) played as Buttons, gave us a cheeky lively character, with Wayne Carpenter (The Defendant) and Emily Delves as Cinderella (The Plaintiff), both, showing their beautiful voices to perfection.  I must admit to loving the Piglet Bridesmaids who bounced around the stage in tight pink tutus. The costumes by Tony Brett and the fabulous wigs by Patsy Page showed great detail and the professional set was stunning. I did also love the magazines that the chorus & jury were reading during the defendants’ evidence, a nice touch – very clever. Costumes and Set were very good providing a new take on a well-known piece.

After the interval we were in for another treat as HMS Pinafore became Starship Pinafore. Set in a Spaceship, the set with lots of attention to detail, provided just the right emphasis while the costumes were once again incredible, with shiny silver spacesuits and red wigs. Patsy and Tony must have been incredibly busy.  The sisters, cousins and aunts, who had the most varied of costumes and wigs, brought beauty and fun into the production.

Beautiful singing from Jenny Haxell, as The Captains Daughter, she looked splendid in a mauve wig. She was in love with Rick Rackshaw (Ashley Thompson) and finally got her man when it was found that he and the Captain had been swapped at birth. Buttercup – Janet Moore whose clear lovely voice filled the auditorium, admitted this and finally ended up with the Captain (Howard Brooks). Howard had unfortunately lost his voice, that night but his part was beautifully sung behind the scenes by Mick Wilson, some excellent lip syncing.   Patrick O” Brien excels again as the dastardly Dick Deadeye. Best of all was Tony Brett as The First Lord of the Space Academy, with resplendent costume and a little fancy dancing during the song Why and Wherefore. He was fabulously over the top and really made the show.

Sometimes the clarity of the choral pieces were a little hard to understand but they all showed, enthusiasm & how much they enjoyed being on the stage. Three cheers to the wonderful orchestra conducted by Gerald Hindes whose music was beautiful, I loved listening to the prelude.

An imaginative and fresh look at two classics operettas. Congratulations to all the cast and crew on their hard work.

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