The Pirates Of Penzance JR

Set on the rocky coast of Cornwall The Pirates of Penzance JR begins with a group of pirates who are celebrating the birthday of one of their own, Frederic, who, on reaching his 21st birthday was free to strike off on his own and become an upstanding citizen which may even mean him bringing the pirates to justice. He then falls in love with Mabel only to discover that he was born on the 29th. February and must return to the pirates to fulfil his stipulated time with them. He exposes a lie Mabel’s father told the pirates to escape capture, and now her father is in danger. Meanwhile the police plan to capture the pirates but who will win?  

Findlay Parker as the Pirate King was outstanding. He was charismatic, so self assured and his animated, comedic and theatrical antics were hilarious. He can both sing and act to a very high standard and was in every sense the perfect Pirate King - a truly top-notch performance. Another fine portrayal came from Frazer Brown as Frederick. He was very much a swashbuckling pirate from his purposeful commanding stances to his engaging stage presence. As Ruth, Grace Collishaw was most impressive. She managed to squeeze every ounce of humour from the role so well and her acting and singing were splendid. Ivan Hager was great in the role of Samuel, his singing in the opening number “Pour, Oh Pour, The Pirate Sherry” was super and he proved to be a very worthy second in command to the Pirate King. Stevie Kirkham, in his immaculate formal uniform, was just brilliant as Major-General Stanley. He gave a stunning performance and his impeccably flawless enunciation of the tongue-twisting patter song ”I Am The Very Model Of A Modern Major-General” was just exquisite. Evie Radmore was deliciously delightful as Mabel. She delivered a lovely and enchanting portrayal of the character and her singing of the very difficult “Poor Wandering One”, with its very high notes, was so effortlessly and divinely achieved. Her sisters, Edith, Kate and Isabel were splendidly played by Roisin Parker, Grace Agius and Holly Brooks. The fearsome band of Pirates were superb and so enthusiastically played by Charlotte Case, Gracie Foster, Nefeli Fryganioti, Daisy Marsh, Elizabeth Rippin, Gabe Scott, Niamh Syson, Flori Tasker and doubling up also as the Police, were Tom Lightbown, Quillen Parker and  Francesca Squires. Bella Syson as the Police Sergeant was a hoot (loved the blue light on her helmet) and her singing of “When A Foreman Bares His Steal (Tarantara!)” was super and along with her motley crew of policeman, the number was a definite highlight. It was so innovatively choreographed and so very well executed it was just so amazingly funny. Bella also doubled as a Pirate. The bevy of beauties that were the Major-General’s daughters were wonderfully played by Holly Chambers, Lucy Coulson-Jones, Emily Dexter, Lucy Gordon, Niamh Lee, Alice Whitaker, Maddison Woodland and also doubling up as the Police were Jess Peel, Chloe Creswell and Kate Whitaker. 

The singing by the soloists, small groups and the whole ensemble was first-class as was the imaginative and creative dance routines which were accomplished with great enthusiasm and proficiency. There were so many excellent scenes but I must just mention the scene “With Cat-Like Tread, Upon Our Prey We Steal”. It was so perfectly crafted with the Police finding hidey-holes in the back section of the raised dais or behind the lovely painted Palm Trees before emerging to take part in the ensuing ‘fight’ which was just brilliant. However, the day was saved by the arrival of a magnificently dressed ‘Queen Victoria’ - I will say no more! The set was simple with video and back projections and together with good lighting effects it was indeed, very effective. The costumes, wigs and accessories were absolutely stunning. What a tremendous amount of talent there was on that stage and it was obvious that every single person was totally involved in this fun-packed, highly entertaining and outstanding Gilbert and Sullivan production. Congratulations must go to Director and Choreographer Siobhan Parker, to Musical Director Amelie Turner and to Assistant Director Claire Collishaw for their collective efforts along with everyone else involved in this most superb production and I must add a big thank you to all at LEOS for the time and expertise you, as a company, give to foster up-and-coming talent. Many thanks also for the very warm welcome and hospitality that my guest and I received.

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