Yeomen of the Guard

This particular Gilbert and Sullivan is not chosen by amateur societies as often as the more popular ones are and there are possibly good reasons for this. The musical content is a little more taxing and the subject matter clearly does not lend itself to comedy as easily.

The long overture was beautifully played but there were however times when the orchestra played as a body and was not in time with the performers. It was especially noticeable in Lloyd’s patter song when the orchestra were behind in time, and also in the first verse of ‘When a Wooer Goes a Wooing’.

G and S’s operettas usually start with a wonderful chorus number and immediately the audience become involved, but this one has only two people on stage and very little happening. It makes it difficult to capture the audience at the very beginning, nevertheless I believe that Diane managed to do so. Her singing and acting were delightful as she portrayed a gentle Phoebe who could be strong if duty required her to be so. I did find it rather difficult to imagine that any such maiden would consider the unsavoury Shadbolt as a suitor! In that role Keith Kimnell’s singing and acting were praiseworthy and Phoebe’s ‘Were I Thy Bride’ was one of the highlights – well sung and very amusing.

John Atkinson’s dialogue was delivered clearly and he was credible as Phoebe’s father, Sergeant Meryll. The family trio with Phoebe and Leonard was good. Dame Carruthers who is the woman to whom Sergeant Meryll eventually reluctantly succumbs, was played with poise by Jane. Although she didn’t appear to be quite so at ease in her solo ‘Warders are ye?’, she was clearly delighted at the prospect of becoming Mrs Meryll.

As Colonel Fairfax, James gave his usual accomplished performance and managed to get a couple of laughs from the audience. I point this out simply because I felt that on the whole – possibly because of the subject matter – only Point provided the comedy in the piece.

Jack Point requires stylised acting and Lloyd managed to achieve this successfully. He was agile on stage and his first entrance, which had a couple of lightly acrobatic moves, was good, but without more variation in the choreography it went on rather too long. His articulation in the patter song was excellent and he gave a confident and winning performance. In the role of his travelling companion and performer Elsie Maynard, Jane Greenshields was excellent in both acting and singing.

It was lovely to hear Julie’s singing voice in her role as Kate and David Chapman acquitted himself very well as Sir Richard Cholmondeley appearing at ease in this his first stage performance. Another newcomer to KASJOG, Stuart Carter also gave a relaxed and convincing performance as Leonard Merryl. Both men had good singing voices.

The chorus were as always a strong part of the production, and they added considerably to the presentation of the operetta. The stage at The Rhoda is a large one and the more people there are on stage the better it looks. There were a number of occasions when there were only two or three people involved and with only a bench it looked rather minimalist, but it came alive when the chorus appeared. The opening scene could perhaps have been set behind the gauze until the end of Phoebe’s song – it is a thoughtful song - rather like a dream -- and then lifted as the dreadful Shadbolt comes on stage, bringing her back to earth as it were. The chorus numbers were effectively set.

The Yeomen’s costumes and halberds were most impressive (one skirt was a little too long) and the costumes in general were super. The gypsy girls looked really attractive and smiled constantly. Their appearance on stage lifted the mood as did Point’s and Elsie’s.

Scenery Hire Limited provided a splendid set and the properties used were suitable for the era.
Make up and hair were fine. Lighting and sound were good and added to the staging.

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