Hazlitt Theatre Maidstone and touring
Musically, for me, the success (or not) of any production of The Pirates of Penzance hangs on “Hail Poetry”. It’s a wonderful moment when everything stops, the cast becomes a choir and Sullivan indulges himself in a splendid four line anthem (complete with exasperatedly daft Gilbertian words – you can almost hear WSG’s irritation) in homage to Mendelssohn. And in the hands of Merry Opera Company under their MD Gabriel Chernick it rings out magnificently – every member of the cast of 14 singing with warm commitment. I could have done without the distracting stage business, though. It takes less than a minute and I think there’s a strong argument for letting the audience listen to it properly in all its loveliness.
Merry Opera is a Kent-based bijoux company which tours scaled down versions of operas and semi-dramatised, immersive versions of works such as Messiah and Verdi’s Requiem. It works with fine young singers and almost always delivers the goods. And The Pirates of Penzance, their first foray into Gilbert and Sullivan, is no exception. Every single person on stage is a talented singer.
It’s the quality of the music which really makes this production work. Gabriel Chernick, on keyboard, has arranged the score very imaginatively for a trio with Eloise Macdonald on violin and Georgina van Hien playing wind and brass – sitting downstage right where they almost become part of the action. I really love the way he has woven in continuos and sympathetic counter melodies. I’m sure Sir Arthur would have approved. And it supports the singing immaculately.
Mimi Doulton, as Mabel for instance is a fine coloratura soprano hitting every one of those absurdly high notes with sparky panache as she smiles through the music at her Frederic, an excellent tenor, although I wish he hadn’t been directed to use that gratingly strangled heightened RP voice in the dialogue. It isn’t funny. Samuel Pantcheff sings the Pirate King (bass) with lots of arresting richness, Phil Wilcox is a skilled and very nimble Major General – the presto encore in his famous number is good fun – and Matthew Quirk is a delightful, rubber kneed, gor-blimey Sergeant of Police.
On the music front then, this is a good production. Dramatically, however, I found it tiresomely fussy. Of course G&S cries out to be camped up and some of it is so absurd that only witty over acting makes it work but director John Ramster over-eggs it here. There is no need for the Pirates to keep making stereotypical “piratical” noises like something out of a strip cartoon, for example. And, for me, the “duty” joke (whenever the word is mentioned, attention is drawn to it – I’ll spare you the spoilers) wears thin after half an hour or so. It all gives the impression of trying just a bit too hard. The material is very strong and there’s a case for allowing it to work its magic without quite so much embellishment.
Susan Elkin