The Pirates of Penzance

Judging by the large and enthusiastic audience The Pirates of Penzance was a very popular choice this season. This operetta has become much better known since The Pirates of Penzance (Broadway Version) has been performed by many societies other than G & S societies. The advantage of the original version is there are no royalties to pay, but the disadvantage is it is a shorter production, missing a few added songs and some of the ‘silly but fun’ business.  Purist G & S devotees will have enjoyed Clevedon’s version very much and so did I!

The attractive scenery depicted rocky cliffs and a good looking pirate ship on the ocean backcloth. A handsome chair as befitting a Pirate King was stage left. Act 2... The curtains opened upon a darkened stage with the outline of a desolate old mansion and we found ourselves among the tombs of departed ancestors. The scenery was sufficient to create good ambience and facilitate the easy entrances and exits of the characters. It looked well constructed and was realistically painted. The costumes were mostly very good. The Pirates were arrayed in a good assortment of waistcoats, leggings and head wear, all very colourful and the men wore the outfits well. There was a nice rich jacket and tricorn hat for the Pirate King and suitable clothing for Frederick. Ruth was very well attired both as a piratical maid of all work and also as a ‘lady’ pirate. The Major General wore the traditional red coat of the retired soldier and looked wonderful in his nightshirt and cap in Act 2. The daughters were somehow a bit mismatched with some looking much grander than the others. With so many daughters of differing age, shape and sizes it was difficult to get a sense of ‘all are daughters’ where the colours and styles complimented each other.

The music was glorious, well known, well sung and very much enjoyed. There was a good balance of voices from the full company, although I was surprised that the daughters singing was not as loud and clear as I would have expected from the number present. This was very apparent in ‘How Beautifully Blue the Sky’ where the words (when heard) are very amusing sung against the duet of Frederick and Mabel. ‘Hail Poetry’ was very good sung in clear four part harmony. The rousing ‘When the Foremen Bares His Steel’ and ‘Cat-Like Tread’ although most enjoyable, suffered from having to split the men’s chorus into two groups. This is a very demanding show for men (and requires large numbers of men) and possibly would have benefitted by having some of the ladies dressed as policemen. The orchestra was very good and I never felt they overpowered the singing of both principals and chorus.

The direction of this operetta was well conceived, groupings were mostly good, entrances and exits well planned. Your stage crew were slick and worked very well in full view of the audiences, so why oh why did you pull the tabs across before Hail Poetry. I am certain this was to get the company into SATB... this could have been done in full view of the audience by dropping the light, gentle walking and repositioning during  Oh Men of Dark and Dismal Fate. The tabs cut the scene in half and spoiled the continuity, have faith in the audience to suspend disbelief... they know what’s coming, so let them see it. Having the tabs across won’t make the audience forget the cast moved into different places! The operetta was well cast with the Director using the strongest performers in principal parts and all appeared in good character and performed with talent and flair.

Overall this was a very polished production; everyone is to be congratulated on presenting an excellent evening’s entertainment.

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