Another fine romp you've got me in...
Our third 2024 trip to Wilton’s Music Hall and the opening night of Parson’s Pirates with Opera della Luna.
This is the 30th anniversary of its first production, but it’s first visit to London.
A cast of six (four men and two women) spends the first Act determining and casting the vicar’s (of St Michael's Under Ware!) fund-raising production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance, and the second Act – in fact two thirds of the production time – performing it.
The first act is full of droll characters, double entendres and audition pieces (including one for the audience) from across the G&S oeuvre.
The actors are all good comic actors and some very passable (and better than passable) singers.
Needless to say, to cover all the pirates, the wards, the policemen and the Major General requires a huge amount of doubling and of quick changes, and much is made of this to general amusement. Wilton’s small stage (and the huge, comically huge, hoop skirts of the wards) allows for the very simple set to appear crowded by only 6 actors. As they are meant to be a scratch parish casting their lack of, for instance, dance skills is acceptably endearing, but if their singing was also poor this wouldn’t do, and it isn’t, and particularly Ellie Laugharne (Mabel) in Pirates). Interestingly the other woman singer, Louise Crane, opened as the first Ruth of the company 30 years ago and reprised her role here.
Overall, their race through the actual operetta works, even though it is probably still 20 minutes too long (but what (more) could you cut?).
The audience clearly enjoyed it, as did we. Wilton’s 2024 season seems excellent, and we have seen only a fraction of it, as runs are rarely longer than 2 weeks and frequently less.
Louise Crane sings the role of Ruth. Best get your facts right if you are going to write a review, eh?
Yes, you are quite right, I had meant to write Mabel, but I'd been looking up the role of Ruth (in the full Pirates) just before I started to write the review and inadvertently wrote that, conflating two threads to my review. I had (also) been amazed that 'this' Ruth had been played by the same player (!) across the 30 year run of this production, an amazing record. And a great performance. I wondered, but could not find out then, whether the same doubles had also gone across the years, although I assumed that they must have done. I don't normally confuse a mezzo with a soprano, but the vocal agility required in the doubling left me doubting my memory. Oh, and very well done.
I have corrected the review now. Apologies for slap dash editing.