The Sorcerer

Christchurch Gilbert & Sullivan Society: The Sorcerer

Having never seen a production of The Sorcerer I was intrigued and curious, and this performance was an absolute barnstormer, with bags of gusto, humour and colour from the get-go and full of variety of tone; from the strong opening song with the jollity of the bustling crowd of villagers, to the rather sinister and disturbing ending where everyone condemns the sorcerer, who has caused all the disruption of relationships in the village, to die. There was humour, pathos, excitement, anxiety and reassurance.

Under the superb direction of Sarah Oliver and musical direction of Ieuan Davies, and with excellent singing and acting from the cast, working very well as an ensemble, all the elements blended together to produce a thoroughly enjoyable show. What was particularly striking was the energy and enthusiasm from the whole cast, which was maintained throughout, the confidence displayed by all and the way in which everyone worked together.

There was both a strong feeling of the traditional G&S, but also some bold and successful experiments away from this; especially with the use of a Steampunk theme for the majority of the costumes. This was even picked up in the delightful mobile beer barrel at the opening, with its steam dials and pressure gauges. An interesting side-effect of the goggles worn on the hats of many of the characters was that, reflecting the stage lights at times, they cast rapidly-moving coloured lights around the walls and ceiling of the auditorium. At least I think that was what was causing those mobile light spots! I felt that the Steampunk costumes worked very well indeed, giving an edge to the traditional village setting that is also there in the words and storyline. The contrast with Alexis and Aline being dressed, in the first half, in white, was effective. The costumes were all of a very high standard – congratulations to all who worked on them.

Magnificent too was the set: very striking, with the brick frontage of a grand house, an impressive back-drop painting of a walled garden, and a side-flat painted as trees and hedge.

Direction was excellent and creative, with the chorus and main characters moving around the stage and interacting very effectively. There was also great choreography and I particularly enjoyed the way two women swirled around a centre group to suggest the intoxication after drinking the love potion-infused tea, before they all fell asleep, and the very jolly ‘pat-a-cake’ dance movements in the ‘Where be I?’ awakening song. This song also demonstrated the strong singing talent of the whole ensemble and was great fun.

Both acting and singing were, indeed, very strong across the board. The chorus of villagers created defined characters for themselves and stayed in those characters, whether singing themselves or, as during Aline’s solo ‘Oh happy young heart’, remaining in the ‘background’. There were some lovely interactions between them, not the easiest thing to get right. The main characters also displayed great talent in both singing and acting. ‘Oh I have wrought much evil’, Lady Sangazure’s duet with the sorcerer, for example (and this is just one example from a host of wonderfully performed songs), was both amusing and very well delivered. Another highlight for me was the quintette harmony song ‘I rejoice that it’s decided’, sung by Sir Marmaduke, Mrs Partlet, Dr Daly, Alexis and Aline, and Constance’s singing was also excellent.

The central performances of the young couple were very strong indeed: Alexis – full of youthful idealism and romance – and Aline, overflowing with love and joy. They were the cornerstone of the production and both did an outstanding job. Their lovely duet ‘Oh love, true love’ was superb. I enjoyed the performances of all the cast and a special mention should go to the portrayal of Dr Daly, the vicar, with his rich, sonorous voice (‘she’s engaged to so and so’ was a particulary enjoyable song) and very good acting. His jumping up and down from the bench while engaging with Alexis was a lovely comic touch. Another mention should go to John Wellington Wells (the sorcerer of the title) – a tour de force performance in both singing (the challenging ‘My name is John Wellington Wells’ patter song was a triumph) and acting. His drinking from a hip flask in the corner during the tea-drinking was a nice touch, and he offered up humorous contemporary references to fuel prices, visa/mastercard and Amazon Prime.

The orchestra were great throughout. The musical direction was spot-on, resulting in a seamless union of the music with all the other elements (acting, lighting, set, costume etc.) to tell the story. There was also, at one point, a surprising and delightful use of the Bohemian Rhapsody melody. Lights and sound worked very well, with the judicious use of microphones at front to provide ambient amplification while relying primarily on the impressive strength of the performers’ voices. I loved the creative use of glove lights on the hands of the chorus during the incantation scene, creating hypnotic patterns. Lighting was good throughout, including a very effective lighting change for Sir Marmaduke’s song with Lady Sangazure (‘Welcome joy, adieu to sadness’).

A very enjoyable evening and a huge credit to all involved.

 

 

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