A wonderfully fun evening out to enjoy some G&S brilliance
While my knowledge of opera is incredibly limited, and I’ve hardly encountered any Gilbert and Sullivan beyond I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General, I knew enough to know that The Pirates of Penzance is a stone-cold classic. What I wasn’t expecting is for it to be quite as funny as it is, with a plot that wouldn’t be out of place in a modern farce.
Sasha Regan’s production certainly goes for the laughs, leaning into the pantomime and having lots of fun with an all-male cast who spring from mostly-macho pirates to mostly-delicate maidens with ease–and twinkles in their eyes as they do. Exaggerations of physicality and accents are aplenty as they play in the ridiculousness of the plot, and it’s almost surprising that there weren’t any almost-laughs from the cast themselves. One thing that cannot be faulted is the commitment of every member of the team to making this a physical, funny, high-energy show.
There’s some lovely technical ability on offer, too. For me, the stand-out performances belong to Luke Garner-Greene in his professional debut, who sings with gorgeous vocal dexterity and gives Mabel a beautiful fragility, and David McKechnie, who fills the room with his presence and finds comedy in every moment his Major-General is on stage. Mention must also be made of Musical Director Ioannis Giannopoulos who single-handedly accompanies the entire show on piano with enviable ability.
It’s clear this production knows what it wants to do and, to its credit, it mostly achieves it. What’s also clear is that these actors are not opera performers, and unfortunately this fact does find itself getting in the way. There are lots of moments where the lyrics cannot be heard amidst the melody and I would struggle to believe they are reaching the people at the back. Indeed, the same can likely be said for many of the songs and most of the scenes, with the exception of McKechnie’s Major-General, Cameron McAllister’s Frederic–who, while slightly wooden, has a shining voice, and Lewis Kennedy’s dynamic and entertaining Sergeant of Police.
I can’t help wondering, too, if there are times the pursuit of a laugh hinders the success of the storytelling. So while the show undoubtedly entertains, there’s still space left for growth in this production. If you’re looking for a fun evening out, you can’t go far wrong with some classic Gilbert and Sullivan in the entrancing Victoriana of Wilton’s Music Hall. If you’re interested in The Pirates of Penzance for its satire on Victorian societal mores and how it pokes at the establishment, Regan’s offering may be slightly adrift.