Patience

Elegant and stylish, this production had class stamped all over it. From the broad brush detailed backdrop, to beautiful costumes, excellent diction and sumptuous orchestra, there was much to admire.

The Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Sydney company has grown in stature to fill its larger venue at Shore School and taken its standards up several notches, since it moved from the company's former long term home at the Zenith Theatre.

Local Gilbert scribe Melvyn Morrow provided some updates to the libretto, bringing everyone from Mike Baird to Justin Bieber into the mix. These updates were quarantined to one patter song and an occasional refreshing gag. It was very pleasing to hear every syllable of this sung by Anthony Mason as Colonel Calverley.

However overall it was a traditional interpretation of the operetta, written in the 1880's as a satire of the Aesthetic movement led by Oscar Wilde. Dean Sinclair as Reginald Bunthorne milked every pose as he glided across the stage. His rival, Mitch Bryson as Archibald Grosvenor, was equally amusing as the image of narcissism. He did not disappoint as we waited to enjoy ‘A magnet hung in a hardware shop’.

Adding to the revelry was the skilful lisp employed by Spencer Darby (who has a name that sounds splendidly Victorian) as the Duke of Dunstable.

The ladies too were lovely, with Bregitte Lahood suitably cheeky as Patience and Ella Arendelle commanding as Lady Angela.

But although the girls rarely get the good character roles in Gilbert and Sullivan, Patience is refreshing in that the women ignore the dapper men in uniform and instead fall for the effete poets.

This production was well directed by Elizabeth Lowrencev, especially in balancing the need for non professional singers to stay still when they had to focus on mastering the music and making all movements count.

Rod Mounjed's orchestra had already earned their keep by the end of the overture.

This company knows how to bring sparkle to less popular operettas.

Review by David Spicer *

*David Spicer was a member of the company during the last century.

Photogeapher: Ray Wing Lun