Trial by Jury & HMOS Pinafore

KNAPHILL & ST. JOHN’S OPERATIC 

 

‘TRIAL BY JURY & H.M.S. PINAFORE’ – MARCH 201

I was delighted to attend the 50th Anniversary of the group last week and wish KASJOG many more years of entertaining the public so admirably.

‘Trial by Jury’

The overture was beautifully played with good balance and volume and it remained so throughout both operettas. None of the soloists were over powered by the orchestra at any time - and that is indeed a rare treat. Richard controlled the eight musicians with seemingly effortless expertise.

The simple courtroom depicted by the benches for the public and jury, plus the imposing Judge’s seat/bench were all that was needed to set the scene for a ‘breech of promise’ trial. Of all G & S operetta’s this is perhaps the wittiest and Nic Maine clearly enjoyed being such a cad as he drew out every ounce of humour from the role. His voice is not so much operatic as musical theatre but he put the songs across extremely well and his acting was excellent He made a credible and very likeable bounder.

Angelina, the young lady he was jilting, was played by Giselle with her usual style and elegance. She too looked as though she were enjoying every moment of her role as the plaintiff and she was a delight to watch.

What a brilliantly colourful quartet of bridesmaids she had for support on the day in court! The four ladies Susan, Julie, Diane and Sue Prior looked wonderful in their brightly coloured dresses and their singing and acting were very good too.

Barry made a wonderful Judge and brought out the comedy in his role strongly.

Dave was imposing as the Usher and the part suited his vocal range perfectly.

As Council for the Plaintiff Heather acquitted herself extremely well in this her first principal role. Both her acting and singing were sound and she looked so much the part that I didn’t recognise her until she sang.

The chorus as public and jurors supported the principals strongly and the chorus singing was first rate. Their opening number was especially good as was ‘Nice Dilemma’ with its’ tricky timing, which appeared to present no problem to them.

The lighting seemed to be fairly straightforward in this operetta – the spotlight on the Judge before ‘Dilemma’ which then widened out to encompass the rest of the stage was really effective.

Costumes and make up were good and the properties, including the pretty posies, were appropriate for the era.

TBJ was a wonderful piece of comedy and I loved it!

‘H.M.S. Pinafore’

This set was especially good and as the cast started to fill the stage half way through the overture, the scene was set of a busy crew preparing for the arrival of Sir Joseph Porter. There was plenty of business with buckets, mops etc.; and the ship was a hive of activity. It was an attention grabbing and strong opening to the operetta.

The sailors’ costumes were smart and uniform, (no pun intended!) and ‘We Sail the Ocean Blue’ was sung with enthusiasm. Just a little note for the men; sing to the front when facing the wings!

Suan made a lovely Buttercup, both her acting and singing were good and in ‘Many Years Ago’ the long held secret was delivered clearly and with feeling.

In his debut role with KASJOG Kevin Chapman gave a good performance and his singing in the finale of Act One was particularly good.

As Captain Corcoran, Lee was self-assured and clearly in command – until the truth came out when his abrupt change of character provided a very amusing moment. His rendition of ‘Fair Moon to Thee I sing’ was especially commendable.

Sue’s vocal ability was impressive and she gave a first rate performance as Josephine.

Keith’s understated approach made the character of Sir Joseph Porter all the more enjoyable to watch, and his songs were delivered with the same relaxed but secure attitude. His tripping down the steps each time he used them caused much hilarity in the audience.

The role of Phoebe always comes across as a rather uninteresting one but it became something much more in Susan’s hands. She was bright, animated and haughty - and looked super. Well done!

Dick Deadeye played by Lloyd was as scary and unattractive as he should be and the duet with Captain Corcoran was good.

The remaining two characters, Bob and Bill played by David S and David C respectively, added to the piece, especially vocally with their strongly sung trio with Ralph of ‘A British Tar’.

The chorus singing was praiseworthy and they certainly did justice to the wonderful four/six part harmonies.

Direction was very good and James presented two well thought out shows with attractive chorus settings and choreography, making good use of the space on stage.  

Lighting was suitably plotted and operated except for the duet ‘Things Are Seldom What They Seem’ when the pool of light was not big enough to cover Buttercup and The Captain when they moved apart – in fact Lee was out of the light for quite a bit of the song. (I appreciate that that may have evolved over the week with movements getting rather wider than originally plotted!)

Sound was good.The costumes were most attractive and make up was mostly fine, with just a couple of ladies who didn’t use enough blusher  Properties were suitable.

Your programme is of high quality and well laid out – photographs are super.. I’m sure you’ll want to enter it in this years’ Poster/Programme competition.

E. Gloria Smith South East Regional Representative – District 12.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.