H.M.S. Pinafore

Gilbert and Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore was first performed in 1878. It was the fourth collaboration between W.S. Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan and their most successful prior to their international mega-hit, The Pirates of Penzance in 1879. Subsequently, however, H.M.S Pinafore has remained as one of the most popular of the ‘G & S’ operettas.

There are many reasons for this, but primarily it is due to Sullivan’s joyous music and Gilbert’s delicious, satiric lyrics and characters. Both are delivered with great, camp fun in this production by The Gilbert & Sullivan Society, SA, directed by *Barry Hill, with Musical Direction by Jacqui Maynard and Choreography by Celeste Barone.

The plot of H.M.S. Pinafore is encapsulated in the subtitle The Lass That Loved a Sailor. Josephine, the daughter of Captain Corcoran of the ‘H.M.S. Pinafore’ is in love with a lower class sailor, Ralph Rackstraw. She is however, engaged to be married to the upper class Sir Joseph Porter, KCB, First Lord of the Admiralty. How Josephine and Ralph eventually unite is essentially the dramatic narrative of this operetta, with the seeming notion that ‘love’ is possible no matter what a person’s social rank and status may be. Sounds simple enough, but W. S. Gilbert is a far too shrewd and cynical satirist to allow this simple notion to be fully accepted. In fact, it is not accepted at all. At the end, all the happy couples are united according to their social rank, proving opposite to the contention that ‘love is a platform on which all ranks meet’. In this world it does not–and that’s Gilbert’s satiric point, puncturing any notion of romantic sentimentality.

This accords with accepted conservative ‘Victorian’ social customs, of which for the most part Gilbert and Sullivan fully supported and uphold in their respective operettas, the main exception being in The Pirates of Penzance and Iolanthe. Subsequently, in modern times, experiencing a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta is in many ways like visiting a foreign world. They can be a lot of fun but they are reflective of a period in which ‘God was an Englishman’–and a ‘white’ Englishman at that.

This is exemplified quite forcefully in H.M.S. Pinafore with the rousing patriotic number “He is an Englishman”. So for some, the world of Gilbert and Sullivan is abhorrent, due to its assertive British imperialism. However, that is too simplistic, as W.S. Gilbert’s satiric eye should never be underestimated. Mocking such superior attitudes is exactly what Gilbert does in H.M.S. Pinafore, exemplified by one of his greatest comic roles, Sir Joseph Porter, who is played with full zest and fun in this production by Brad Martin.

At the centre of H.M.S. Pinafore, however, are the ‘lovers’, Josephine and Ralph. If you don’t care for these characters then quite simply you don’t have the show. In this production, however, Megan Doherty and James Nicholson are absolutely wonderful as Josephine and Ralph.

The scene in Act 1 in which Ralph declares his love to Josephine, to which she responds with “Refrain, audacious tar” was for this reviewer the highlight of this production. It was dramatic, played with great conviction, and beautifully and powerfully sung.

There are many other wonderful moments in H.M.S. Pinafore, including the brilliant trio “Never Mind the Why and Wherefore”.

The opening night audience of loyal supporters of the Gillbert & Sullivan Society, SA, loved every moment, laughing, cheering, and applauding. It was a lot of fun, and despite some misgivings about the content in a modern context, nonetheless, it was a joyous evening revisiting this now foreign and very British world from a period in the far distant past.

Tony Knight

*Barry Hill is a Stage Whispers reviewer

Photographer: Tim Bates