The Pirates of Penzance

'The Pirates of Penzance’ was Blackburn Gilbert & Sullivan Societies choice for their 2016 show.  The show contains some very well known Gilbert & Sullivan numbers and has a strong narrative throughout. The requirement for both, a strong male and female chorus is never more important, due to the way in which the music is written and the men being split even further into the pirates and police.

The first thing we were treated to when the house lights faded was the superbly sophisticated and understated orchestra. The sound they created was beautiful with fantastic dynamics creating immense light and shade. Part of this great sound was due to it being left for the musicians to control and resonate through the theatre, without any manmade amplification. This meant the sound balance between cast and orchestra was great and everything could be heard with ease.

Due to this superb sound balance the singing from the cast could be heard at all times so the cast were unable to hide behind an over produced sound. This meant all the work the performers had put in ensure all the notes, dynamics and harmonies were correct, could be heard and was definitely appreciated by all who watched.  From the beginning all the way through to the end we were indulged with some great singing from both chorus and principles. The harmonies in the acapella section of 'hail poetry ’stood out as the quality of sound was simply stunning.

Not only were the cast in good voice, but we had some great acting. Some very strong characterisations from the principal cast created memorable parts and they managed to stay in character throughout the show. In support of the principles was an animated chorus that were interesting to watch. A lot of thought had gone into all the detail that the chorus displayed, facial expressions and body language had both been considered. This helped to portray the required feelings and in turn enhanced emotion within the production giving the narrative more depth. The diction of the cast was first rate with every word being heard. The cast deserve credit, but also the sound engineer did a superb job with the cueing and volumes.

Throughout the show were many modern comedy elements, which were added by the director. These were well executed and thus seemed to be greatly received by the audience, with laughter often being heard ringing around the auditorium. The staging of the musical numbers offered us the chance to see some nice stage work, with well thought out and apt choreography, although this was very simple. However this was well accomplished by the entire cast.

Costumes were nice and colourful. The maidens were suitably dressed with matching dresses and bonnets and some of the cast members being dressed correctly to reflect their older playing age. The pirates attire was also very applicable, with hats, bayonets, pistols and swords all being present. The set, as with many G&S productions was very static, this compared to big musical productions can seem uninteresting but it does leave the cast and their performance at the forefront, without anything distracting away from the action.

After the show we overheard a conversation between a cast member who mentioned to the director, that “If Gilbert and Sullivan were still alive and they came to watch our show they would think two things. They would be glad their shows are still being performed by us and also they would appreciate the modern and possibly more risky comedy elements that have been incorporated, which back in their time would have been taboo.” This on refection is a rather admirable thought, I think a fitting tribute to the director’s influences and how he managed to portray this through the cast. Gilbert & Sullivan productions now have a reputation for being slightly old fashioned, making them seem boring to a lot of people. When they were initially written and performed, they were very current and the humour contained many of the present day themes about politics and notorious people. This production had managed to do this once again and made it very topical, with the humour containing many themes which are relevant today.

This production brought a smile to the faces of many people and not only impressed those who watched by the content, but also by the talent which was displayed on stage. The bringing together of some new faces, with the well established cast boded well and created a well engineered piece of theatre. This was interesting and a pleasure to watch. The easy to follow narrative as well as the good execution of it was very much appreciated by the audience, which can be judged by than better then expected box office numbers that the show brought in. We would like to thank the society for their kind invitation and look forward to finding out what they have chosen for their 2017 production.    

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.