The Pirates of Penzance

W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan's comic operettas still have a place in 21st century live theatre and this was very evident in the company's latest offering of "The Pirates of Penzance".  The society is very fortunate to have the services of Stephen Kenna as a producer and musical director.  Stephen has won many awards for his G & S productions at the annual Buxton International G & S Festival and brings his vast experience to local theatre, accomplishing a very high standard from the cast.

As the audience settled down during the overture, a nicely mimed piece was played out by members of the cast and children, depicting the young boy Frederic's mistaken apprenticeship to a pirate instead of a pilot and the christening of Mabel, the youngest daughter of the Major-General, thereby setting the theme for the story.

The use of a single standing set, by Paul Lazell, depicting, in Act 1, a Cornish coastal rocky inlet and in Act 2, a ruined chapel by moonlight, appropriately lit, provided realistic backdrops to the action, with colourful and authentic costumes of the period sourced from The Costume Store.  These added much to the visual quality of the performance, although I personally felt that it would have been more appropriate to dress the more mature "girls" of the chorus as chaperones and not try to portray them all as young beauties in their lovely white crinolines - this, for me, did add a slight touch of 'pantomime' - was that intentional?

Nevertheless, the quality of the singing, some of it in eight-part harmony, was a joy to listen to and much appreciated by the supportive audience.  The whole cast had clearly benefited from Stephen's musical direction and he ensured that the orchestra under-scored sympathetically throughout the performance.

As Frederic, James Humpheys' performance was commanding and mesmerising, his talent as an actor and singer well-matched by that of Alex Outlaw's as Mabel, whose glorious voice accomplished those top notes with apparent ease.  They were well-supported by Anthea Kenna, as Ruth, Frederic's former nurse-maid, who'd mistakenly apprenticed him to the gang of Pirates and joined them as a maid of all work.  Anthea has a natural talent for comedy roles and this was borne out well in her performance.

Mike Sykes was relishing his role as the swashbuckling Pirate King, supported well by Graham Tarran as his Lieutenant Samuel and young Jonathan Whitmore was captivating as Major-General Stanley, his eccentricities well-portrayed and masterfully accomplished in his "Model Major-General" song - a breath-stopping moment!  Charlotte Tarran, Tash Crossley and Lorraine Berry, as the Major-General's other daughters, Edith, Kate and Isabel, were also evidently enjoying themselves in their musical numbers "Stop, ladies, pray" and "What ought we to do?"

Bernie Bush was comical as the Sergeant of the bungling policemen, using every ounce of his imposing figure to good effect.  I also enjoyed young Keziah Farrow's "dance" around the policemen during their well-known chorus - a nice touch by choreographer Elsa Springham, who had also devised some delightful choreography for the company's chorus numbers.

Messrs. Gilbert & Sullivan, I'm certain, would have much enjoyed this rollicking performance of one of their most popular operettas, which has lost none of its original humour and is still very relevant today.  Thank you, Bishop's Stortford Musical Theatre Company, for an evening's feast of singing and comedy - well done!

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