Trial by Jury & Melodies from the musicals

Trial by Jury featured the first half of the programme and it was a pleasure to see this shortest of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Operettas, first performed in 1875, staged and still being presented as fresh and enjoyable as ever. The defendant (Alan Savage) turned up in tennis gear and wielding a tennis racquet, much to the amusement of the audience (well anything goes now G&S is out of copyright).Alan has a pleasant light tenor voice and The Plaintiff (Vivien Seville) is a lovely soprano and they were well suited to their roles. The Learned Judge (Mike Dernie) gave a consummate performance and the smaller roles were all well played. The chorus of Bridesmaids, Jury and the whole ensemble revelled in singing and acting their contribution to a most enjoyable production.The second act comprised solos, duets and chorus numbers with songs from Oklahoma, Guys and Dolls and West Side Story which were well received and also a lovely solo from Caroline Worthington “What I Did For Love” from ‘A Chorus Line’ currently enjoying a revival in London’s West End. The small stage was a little cramped for the chorus numbers but on an extremely hot night there was no shortfall in presentation which was much enjoyed by the sweltering audience. The whole performance was underpinned by the excellent accompaniment of Angela Allard.

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