Being my first experience of opera, and perhaps not being the target audience, the recent HMS Pinafore production in Oxford left me with mixed feelings. The cast were clearly talented and performed an authentic showcase of a Gilbert & Sullivan classic but some of the lyrics were lost to my untrained ear. This however did not seem to matter as the plot was straightforward enough to follow and the notes being hit very impressive. 

Previously my only experience of this story was from an episode of The Simpsons called ‘Cape Feare’ where Sideshow Bob is asked by Bart to sing the entire score in order to stall for time – a classic and a must watch! HMS Pinafore is a comic opera with music & story written by Arthur Sullivan and W.S. Gilbert which opened in 1878, London. It is a story of a mismatched love between a captain’s daughter, Josephine (Georgina Stalbow) and a common sailor Ralph Rachshaw (Lawrence Olsworth-Peter) which concludes with a twist delivered by Buttercup, a bumboat woman with a secret that is equally surprising and bonkers all at the same time. You can imagine the story is very much of its time (dare I say outdated) and comments mainly on class and a little on patriotism (as a young British person, this doesn’t sit right with me anymore!) It did however has some comedic moments which were a bit more slapstick in style with a drunk Navy officer and the Ship’s captain played by Matthew Siveter who stole the show in my opinion. His comedic timing and stage presence were a highlight and he has truly mastered getting a laugh out of the audience. 

The sound quality of the venue posed some challenges as at times the dialogue and lyrics were muffled and with the cast being un-mic’d meant that the audience’s ability to hear at time would have been hindered. I, myself was sat reasonably close to the front and struggled at times so I can imagine it being quite difficult for some members of the audience to engage fully with the production. 

As I say, there were some bright spots in among these challenges and the performances were strong, showing considerable skill and dedication to the stage show.