The Pirates of Penzance

The Pirates of Penzance – For this my first visit to Christchurch G&S Society it was exciting to see one of my favourites.  Every Savoy Opera has a special tale to tell, and Pirates is no exception.  The programme quoted the fact that the opera was first seen by an audience in a scratch performance at the Bijou Theatre, Paignton before its opening night in New York the following day - this was to ensure copyright was reserved in Britain. 

The two acts for Pirates require two different scenes.  The first creates the rocky shore in Cornwall for the pirates to party on and the Major General’s daughters to glimpse the sea and try to paddle.  The second, a ruined chapel with an eerie atmosphere, was enhanced by mood lighting at various stages.  The scenery for the two acts was both effective and efficient to enable the cast to enter and exit easily.  The sets created must have been a joy to create and perform movement on.  The lighting of the various scenes was excellent and a pleasure to watch. Congratulations.  A pleasant change to have lighting changes according to the mood and tone of the action.  Unlike the old days of switch on at the beginning and switch off at the end. 

What an amusingly motley crew the pirates made with an eclectic assortment of outfits which only served to create the right tone.  Lovely to see the correct footwear for the men.  The decision to have governesses for the girls was inspired and gave the opportunity for the wardrobe to have a greater variety of styles albeit right for the period.  The policemen were well dressed and had, delight of delights, shiny shoes! Thank you for that detail.  In general, the make up was good and appropriate with particularly rugged looking pirates.  All round the hair was right for the period.

The orchestra was extremely well balanced throughout.  The overture was excellent - fine mood setting. At no point in the whole production was the balance between orchestra and cast anything other than perfect.  Not a common occurrence.  Some fine singing from all members of the cast throughout made for a sonorous evening.  The Hail Poetry went down well. An evening without microphones is a thrill in itself.

The level of focus by all members of the cast is a tribute to fine directing.  Particularly noticeable were the crisp responses by the chorus during the libretto.  The libretto was delivered at speed and did not slow the performance down as so often happens.  The production benefitted from some creative choreography which was thoroughly appreciated by the audience. 

What makes a good show?  - A well-cast and balanced principal line up, harmonious chorus, good moves, balanced orchestra and creative directors.  This show had it all.

Congratulations to all involved.

Hopefully the cast and crew enjoyed their sojourn to Cornwall much as the audience did. 

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