The Gondoliers

It was so lovely to see Woodhouses Church AOS take to the stage again with such confidence after missing two years due to the pandemic, their show The Gondoliers had had to be postponed only a few weeks before their original show week.

The set for Gondoliers was very good with some highly detailed beautifully painted backdrops. Props were good and solid and well handled by the cast, I particularly enjoyed the two different sizes of brandy balloons and Peter Shellard (The Duke) used every muscle in his body to make sure that we (the audience) noticed the size difference. 

Robert Driver (Marco) and Adrian Davison (Giuseppe) had great stage chemistry as the two gondolier brothers, they projected well and diction was fairly clear. Adrian used his facial expressions well to convey thought and reaction especially when his character wasn’t in the forefront of the scene. I particularly enjoyed the number “In a contemplative fashion” performed by the two Gondoliers and their new wives, it had great attack and allowed a huge comedic loss of control which the audience thoroughly enjoyed. The two brides Gianetta (Rebecca Tonge) and Tessa (Andrea Marshall) obviously enjoyed playing their characters and both had strong vocals, they used the stage well and kept their faces turned on at all times. They interacted well with the very hard working chorus and kept up some good pace. Rebecca does tend to have a slightly softer singing voice and would definitely benefit from a microphone, she has lovely tone and I would hate to sacrifice tone for more projection. Steve Miller as Don Alhambra was perfectly cast, he used his stage space well both horizontally and vertically, diction, projection and vocals were strong. I absolutely loved the onstage chemistry between Peter Shellard (The Duke) and Amanda Carr (The Duchess), both played very strong characters and both had great stage presence, they played off each other perfectly and their comedy timing was spot on. I really enjoyed their portrayal of “On the day when I was wedded”. Lawrence Shoebridge (Luiz) and Susan Fletcher (Casilda) made a perfect couple in the end. Susan played her character with some great feistiness and attack, her diction was clear projection and vocals good. Lawrence held his own and delivered his part well.

As I already mentioned the chorus worked very hard. It is quite a physical and dance heavy show and they kept it bouncing along with great pace under the ever watchful eye of their Musical Director Anne Butterworth. The costumes were bright and for the most part very fitting to the piece although I personally was a little confused when The Duke came back on in a completely different coloured wig and a red and black outfit for a second I thought Captain Hook had joined the performance - it was a little distracting. I was also a little disappointed in the two brides wedding dresses, one was lovely and very apt but the other looked like a nightdress with some bows added - I appreciate that some wedding dresses do look like that but I personally found it again distracting and not in keeping . 

In finality, I must give a standing ovation to Edward Rigg on the piano. He plays the whole score by himself (with his page turner) and having performed G&S myself I can fully appreciate what a huge undertaking that is. Thank you for your hospitality, I look forward to seeing you all again soon.

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