The Pirates of Penzance

As a true fan of everything Gilbert and Sullivan I was already eagerly anticipating the trip to visit Hull
Savoyards production of The Pirates of Penzance and let me tell you I was not disappointed. As so many
societies have, Hull Savoyard have had their disruptions with the recent COVID out break but this did not
deter from a wonderful version of this well-loved classic. It was apparent that it was not just me that was
eagerly anticipating the performance as extra seating had to be put out to accommodate the quickly
growing audience and they were certainly not disappointed by this vocally sublime and well put together
show.
The show started with a wonderfully well played overture provided by the talented ladies and gentlemen
of the Kingston Savoy Orchestra led by Martin Lay, who I understand were depleted in numbers due to
the dreaded COVID. However, this was not obviously noticeable and all members of the orchestra came
together to make an excellent job. This was followed by the chorus’ wonderful rendition of ‘Pour, oh Pour
the Pirate Cherry’ which set such a positive an upbeat start for the rest of the show to progress to and
encouraged the audience to sit up and listen for the performance to follow.
With such a fabulous show all members of cast must give there upmost to come together to create a
wonderful rendition and they did not disappoint. With so many wonderful performances it is hard to pick
out individuals. The wonderful combination of Louise Jaques as Mabel and Leon Waksberg as Frederick
was a welcome addition to the show and created the well-loved love story throughout the performance.
No performance of The Pirates of Penzance can be without The Pirate King played by Peter Perkins who
drew the audience attention throughout and was the centre of most comedic moments. I have to say
great praise must be given to Alex Dickenson who played Samuel. This role is not one of the major roles
within the show, but Alex definitely pulled it out the bag and was a joy to watch throughout the show and
created a truly noticeable character with brilliant delivery and stage presence throughout. As this is his
first production with Hull Savoyard I look forward to seeing him in future shows. No review of this show
can be complete without mention The Major General played by Steve Aylmer. His vocal ability and
characterisation of this truly well-loved character was wonderful and his rendition of ‘I am the Very Model
of a Modern Major General’ was excellent and truly worth seeing on its own.
The Production team of this show should be very proud of what they have created. Their effort and
dedication to the show was apparent and created an overall marvellous piece of theatre. The stage was
very well designed, and the scenery was modest but effective to help with the overall portrayal of the
show. The lighting was similarly effective without being overcomplicated and helped to set the scenes
extremely well. Hull Savoyard really did justice to this traditional masterpiece and brought it once again
to life for a modern audience and showed how truly talented each member of cast, crew and production
team were by the truly stunning show they provided. You all should be very proud of the hard work
shown within this performance.

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