The Grand Duke

This rarely performed show from the pens of Gilbert and Sullivan was lively and amusing.  I did wonder where we were going when the first main song talked about sausage rolls, and showed the cast using sausage rolls as a prop, but the music was good, and as always the ensemble singing was particularly good, despite being heavily female weighted.

I liked the concept of using the reversible flats, however I would have liked the reverse to have been more colourful, and the columns in Act 2 were cleverly contrived.

Lighting was good, there is never much call for sophisticated lighting plots for G&S, so it all worked well.  Sound was good, and as always it was a pleasure to see a production that did not rely on mics, and where the sound balance was good.

Musically sound, there were some very nice performances and interpretations, with the ensemble singing more animated than is often the case, I felt there was plenty of energy and expression, so well done to the cast and also to the MD, who had obviously worked well with them to get the sound he wanted and the nuances to give depth and interest.  I particularly liked the soft start to the finale of Act 1 and the gradual build, a very spirited rendition.

Costumes were mostly fine, however there was some attention to detail required.

Choreography was mostly good, a little different from the norm, but which the cast coped with well.

I enjoyed the performances of the minor principal ladies – Emma Crew (Elsa), Louise Thonger (Bertha), Nicole Santelmann (Olga), Katharine Crew (Martha) and Rebecca Badham (Gretchen), they all sang and acted with confidence and vigour.

Stephen Hoath (Ludwig) sang well and created a lively engaging character.

I liked Ruth Harley (Lisa), she gave the character simplicity and naivety, but showed accomplishment, amongst the more assured performers, which created a good dynamic.

Jessica Hallett (The Notary), had a lovely voice with excellent diction, and coped well with trying to be the sane voice amongst the other slightly zany characters.

Graham Breeze (Ernest Dummkopf) characterised the part well, and I enjoyed his relationships with the other individuals, a quirk of the eyebrows, a sly grin etc, to make a nicely rounded portrayal.

Paula Fraser (Julia Jellicoe) created a fun lady, speaking with a broken German accent, despite being acknowledged as English(!).  Paula gave us a couple of beautifully sung numbers, plenty of emotion and colour in her performance, which I enjoyed very much.

Robert Kendrick (The Grand Duke) was a good contrast to the other male leads, however I felt he was unable to present his first song well after rushing around all over the stage.  I did get the fact that the Grand Duke was ineffective and a bit useless to his subjects, and I liked his reactions to the ladies.

Sue Wookey (Baroness van Krakenfeldt) again created a great character, sang well and looked marvellous.  I thought she maintained her drunken persona extremely well, with some lovely facial expressions.

Annie Parker (Herald) gave the part humour, which I enjoyed.

David Crew (Prince of Monte Carlo) always gives a touch of class to a production, I thought he coped well with the accent, and singing in both French and English, nicely done.

Claire Moore (Princess of Monte Carlo) also maintained the classy feel as the Prince’s daughter, again singing well with a very expressive face.

Andrew Hodges (Costumier) was both camp and colourful, lending another dimension to the production.

A rather silly show, but performed with enthusiasm and some good performances, making it a most enjoyable evening. 

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