We have a song to sing, Oh!

For those reading this review well into the future, it’s worth noting that this is September 2021 and rehearsals and shows of all kinds have been effectively banned for over a year.  This show came together in a matter of weeks after various levels of “lockdown” had been lifted, so by my rough calculations the society have had around 8 weeks to put on a concert that set out to entertain its Gilbert and Sullivan loving audience and thoroughly succeeded.

I am certainly in that G&S loving category myself, and I found myself taken back to so many shows I have either been in or seen myself over the years – many fond memories.

The structure of the show was quite straight-forward, and similar to many other such concerts when performing a common repertoire.  Chairs on stage, simple lighting, a little room for people to stand up and “perform” their pieces.  It was comprised of two acts, with 14 songs in each, with groupings of two or three songs around a particular show, giving us a good spectrum of the G&S repertoire.  Costume was formal, with black and white being worn throughout, and small props were occasionally used in songs, which worked well and added to the performances.

For this show we also had a compere, Alf Mossop, who introduced the group and gave the audience some background to each song, sort of in the style of the late, great, Nicholas Parsons, with witty introductions in a G&S theme.  The chorus pieces were sung from identical black folders, and the performers were decked out in black and white, with additional sparkles here and there.  The accompaniment was a piano, played by Richard Bromley – who had a very keen ear for any fluctuations or concerns on stage, where he would sympathetically shorten or add bars and make everything fit beautifully.

The chorus sounded well rehearsed, given the tight timescale, with good diction, very clear SATB parts coming through and excellent control – making great use of David Tattersall’s conducting.  The ladies were especially strong, but the whole group worked well together.  G&S works can be a very demanding sing, and a wide range of repertoire such as that shown tonight will have required significant work, and the audience could certainly see the effects of this.  Of the chorus numbers, I particularly enjoyed, “Ring Forth Ye Bells”, “Over The Bright Blue Sea / Sir Joseph / Gaily tripping”, and felt these were especially well done.

The individual soloists have clearly all worked very hard – without exception.  It was lovely to see each interpretation and their character come to life, and I hope to characterise some of their performances here, though I fear I’m in danger of missing someone out, so I shall add that there was no one who did not add something of value to this concert. 

Colin Belsey’s take on Dr Daly’s beautiful song was lovely and heart warming – with added “covid” lyrics meshed in. While Colin seemed a little nervous as the first soloist, he warmed up well and delivered a lovely performance.

John Wellington Wells’ difficult patter song was next, which was handled with skill by Tony Baker who kept his witty and artful character absolutely alive.

George Jones performed the part of Antonio, in “For the Merriest Fellows are we”, and certainly convinced us of his enjoyment of the part, looking absolutely the part of a cheery gondolier.

Peter Bowden’s “Wand’ring Minstrel” was a delight – a clear, beautiful tone of voice and excellent diction, while making the most of the character in the limited space.

Rachael Lewis’ gorgeous voice did justice to the beautiful but challenging, “The Sun Whose Rays” as well as performing parts in a number of other songs.  Hannah Godden performed many pieces this evening as well and her lovely voice did each song justice, with “When a Merry Maiden Marries” being sung well as her main solo piece.  I especially enjoyed her voice when working with others though.  “Three Little Maids” sounded really good, and worked really well for all three voices.  I suspect when working in a small group rather than solo everyone feels supported by their group, a little tension dissipates and everyone performs just that little bit better. 

Angela Towers with the ladies’ chorus roused the audience with a lovely rendition of, “Mighty Maiden” and powerful aria, “Minerva!”

The audience took great delight in Rebecca Chandler’s confident and witty performance of, “A Lady Fair, Of Lineage High”, with laughs before the song even started!  Her approach to telling the story was skilful and a delight to watch and listen to, which subtle but clear actions to guide us.

Graham Beevers entertained us with solo parts in a number of songs, though I especially liked his take on, “When The Night Wind Howls”, from Ruddigore, as I could see his character really come to life here and he seemed to enjoy causing a little fright and harassment of his fellow cast members.  A thoughtful characterisation.

John Reid did a lovely job with his songs and especially entertained with his forgetful Major General, turning to Hannah for help with his lines.  He got through the infamous patter unscathed and raring for more.

When the buds are blossoming – Rachael Lewis, Jo Bigg, George Jones, Iain Lamb was really lovely – one of my favourites of the evening, along with the equally good, “In a Doleful Train”, featuring John Sutherland, Juliette Beston, Jo Bigg and chorus – really lovely though the men’s chorus did struggle to reach the high tempo demanded of this, but gave it a valiant effort!

David Towers performed a couple of numbers towards the end for us, notably the, “The Battle’s Roar Is Over”, with his wife Angela Towers, not forgetting to mention his moment donning the wig and sunglasses for, “A Magnet Hung in a Hardware Shop”, looking every bit the part of Grosvenor, though the wig and glasses were perhaps a touch more Ozzy Osbourne, but worked well for the comedy. 

John Sutherland was every bit the showman this evening, with a number of fabulous performances.  He had clearly put a lot of work into his performances and this showed through.  I enjoyed his, “Oh Better far to live and die”, and of course his lead in, “Hail Poetry”.  Iain Lamb also delighted the audience with his lovely voice in a range of pieces and made a great job of the nervous policeman in, “When The Foeman Bears His Steel”.  The strong character songs seemed to work well for both John and Iain, and together with Rebecca Chandler did the most beautiful rendition of, “I Have A Song To Sing, Oh!”, which I shall always remember.  Iain and John took to their acoustic guitars and, while adjusting the melody a little, really made a superb job of an already touching song.  For me, this was the highlight of the night.

The concert was devised and directed by Rachael Lewis, Hannah Godden, and David Tattersall.  The musical director was David Tattersall and the accompanist was Richard Bromley.  The production team must have worked very hard to get this concert just right, and I think they did a super job here.  Well done to all involved.

I realise I am in danger of missing people out who contributed to the evening so let me say that this was well performed by all and of a good standard.  There were occasional missed lyrics here and there, which one or two naturally kick themselves over, we’ve all been there, and perhaps some first night nerves, but the confidence and charisma was absolutely there and ensured that the audience relaxed and really enjoyed the whole show.  If you enjoy G&S there would certainly be plenty to enjoy – I certainly did.

So, could anything be improved?  What can we take away from this and learn from?  There are a few minor things to work on: consistency in reactions across the chorus.  Some people would react to characters actions and others would be oblivious and not really be in character at all.  Either is fine, but a mix within a single song looks a little awkward at times.  Another danger is dropping out of character when you have a solo and feel you have finished – it’s still your performance, so stick it to the end rather than walking away and sitting down when you think you’ve finished singing everything.  I would also suggest, possibly brightening the outfits a little – perhaps some additional colour here or there might have enhanced the experience a little.

Overall, an entertaining evening, thank you and well done all.

 

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