London Coliseum, 9 May 2015

Mike Leigh has known The Pirates of Penzance since he was a child and let us say from the outset that his first staging of the work is a triumph on all levels. Where so many directors would attempt to up-date it or make it relevant, he takes it at face value, giving it a freshness that even those of us equally immersed on G&S found surprising. We can add to this the reality that G&S is nowhere near as popular, or as frequently performed, as was the case fifty years ago. Consequently it was a delight to see so many young people in the audience clearly encountering Gilbert’s wit for the first time – as many as there were those of us having to supress the desire to turn the whole event into a Sing-along-Pirates.

Not only is Mike Leigh’s direction fast-moving and witty throughout, it has exceptional clarity so that the text and lyrics are easily heard – useful when on the first night the sur-titles seemed to have a life of their own. Alison Chitty’s designs brought an equally fresh approach with their deep pastel blues and mauves, for a set which was on one level entirely abstract and yet reflected children’s toys in its simplicity. The pirates’ ship at the start was a stroke of genius. And all of this lit with subtlety by Paul Pyant.

Where most revivals of G&S rely on singers from the Musical stage, here we had operatic voices which could do justice to Sullivan’s lyricism. Claudia Boyle has a secure coloratura which allows her Mabel to drop Donizetti onto the Cornish coast with aplomb while her acting has a roguish charm – no wilting heroine here. It would have been good to feel that her Frederick, Robert Murray, was equally virile but, while he sang well, he did not cut as dashing a figure as the other men.

Musically the evening hinges on three basses, Andrew Shore’s fleet-footed Major General, Joshua Bloom’s Pirate King cast in the mould of Brian Blessed, and Jonathan Lemalu’s Sergeant of Police, whose likeness to Ronnie Barker was at times disconcerting. When Sullivan is sung so well there can be no doubt of his stature as a composer, and the patter songs are matched by the simple delicacy of Ah lead me not to pine and the intensity of the Pirate trio.

The only unexpected characterisation was Rebecca de Pont Davies’ deeply Cornish Ruth. Taking the text at face value she carries an ear trumpet because she is hard of hearing and, for all the Pirates desire early on to get shot of her, they are only too happy to share a picnic given the chance to do so.

The ENO chorus were loving every minute of it and what a pleasure to find double the number of men in act two rather than having to split them in half across pirates and policemen. The ladies danced well in Francesca Jayne’s free-flowing choreography and were unfased by the speed of How beautifully blue the sky.

David Parry keeps the tempi brisk throughout but never at the risk of blurring the text. Would that all G&S were at this level. I wonder if this Pirates will run as long as Mikado? I will be surprised if it does not.