The Pirate Queen

When you’ve composed two of the biggest blockbuster musicals to ever grace the stage one could say it’d be unthinkable to outdo or even equal yourself. Manchester Musical Youth chose to give one of Boublil and Schönberg’s – of ‘Les Misérables’ and ‘Miss Saigon’ fame – lesser known titles an airing.

Sword fights, frolicsome jigs, stately processions and hearty river dancing is in full force as we experience a musical adaptation of the legend of Queen Elizabeth I and Grace O’Malley in ‘THE PIRATE QUEEN’.  

If you didn’t know who the composer for this piece was by the time the show had begun, any avid musical theatre fan would soon be flicking through their programme for confirmation that it must be Schönberg’s music at the very least. Lovers of Schönbergs more commercial work will recognise one or two familiar melodies too, not necessarily in the songs themselves (not that I noticed anyway) but the incidental and transition pieces are riddled with reminders that you’re listening to a Schönberg score. Creating music which is not only instantly recognisable as his, he manages to give off a strong iconic impression when first hearing his music, the sense of a modern classic. When Cameron Mackintosh was first given a cassette tape of the ‘Les Misérables’ score (that would change his and their lives forever) before he even got to ‘I Dreamed A Dream’ he knew what he was listening to was going to be something of epic proportion, you can understand this and do get a similar sense with this shows score too, so why did it not do so well?

What does make this show very different from their other successes is how everything ultimately blurs together with very few stand out pinnacle features to its structure. Making the highlights of this show as a whole is down to the performances rather than the material and thankfully we got some expertly accomplished acts in this production firstly with Emily Clarke’s exquisite portrayal as Queen Elizabeth I. Emily’s vocal ability was on par with her craft as an actress which were both as equally flawless as the other.

Tara Kitson was every inch the leading lady as the pivotal Grace O’Malley, indeed a fiery performance from this individual with ample passion and mounds of allure and kindled the show with a magnificent spirit.      

Dance plays a key part in the presentation of this production which was so promisingly received. The cast certainly threw heaps of energy into their physical performances with well drilled sequences which were performed with style and vigour. Choreography doesn’t begin once the cast are in formation, getting in and out of position is part of the choreography too and with a cast so large, spatial awareness is imperative to achieve a well-ordered presentation. Seeing cast bumping into each other getting in and out of sequence did portray as a little clumsy putting a dampener on the class of presentation which excels so highly in other areas.  

Dubhdara’s memorial was an ideally laboured segment in the show, savoured just perfectly which made a beautifully pinnacle and most memorable moment. Many of the cast had been given the opportunity to get to grips with sword fighting technique which is a rare yet highly beneficial craft to have experienced. The sword fighting did drag at times as we saw the same moves and ‘tricks’ on a loop but in fair play, I get bored watching fight scenes at the cinema that go on for more than a minute.

To go from one show, hiring an epic brand new impressively designed set to the next show offering us a DIY job was a bold risk in terms of presentation consistency, but full credit to the team - you wouldn’t have felt short changed in comparison. The set did everything it needed to do to aid the narrative and didn’t once give the impression of cutting corners or being out of their depth. Nicely done!  

As it’s come to be expected from this company, making the grandest of all statements was the impressive vocals of the cast, as feature singers, of course - but remarkably so as an ensemble. This troupe have now mastered the formula of knowing how to get the hairs on your arms to stand on end and they whack you with it at every available opportunity. Just marvellous!     

This singing costume drama of love and patriotism on the high seas is damp in its story telling but this exciting group of extremely gifted members gave it an outing that’d rival any other! Hats off for introducing some new and rare material to your families and friends and for presenting what was an evidently loved and rewarding project.     

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