The Pirates of Penzance or The Slave of Duty

What they lacked in numbers on stage, they made up for in wit and inventiveness. Richard Caroll’s The Pirates of Penzance quintet was a clever and entertaining night in the theatre.

Patrons walked into the Hayes Theatre via the veranda entrance, and part of the stage was adorned with couches for members of the audience to sit on, and bulk up the cast when required.  It was a great idea and helped give a sense of a rollicking chorus.

When the cast was not moving around the couches, the action took place on an old fashioned looking raised wooden stage.  It reminded me of a school hall – an appropriate nod to the common placement of Gilbert and Sullivan productions in amateur theatre.

It needed to be sturdy as an upright piano on wheels spun around on top, used for various choreographed jigs and costume changes.

Those familiar with the operetta were intrigued at how The Pirates of Penzance renowned for large casts could work with such a small number?

Sometimes it was done with props, such as hats on sticks to resemble Policemen, but mainly it rode on the backs of hard yakka from cast. 

Filling principal roles was made more challenging because Maxwell Simon had the unitary role of  Frederic. With long locks, dreamy eyes and supercharged new dialogue which deliciously milked the earnestness of the ‘21-year-old’ graduating Pirate, he was splendid but sadly unavailable to do more than one part.

Trevor Jones – occasional pianist and performer - shone as the Model of a Major-General. The updated lyrics of the Major General’s song were terrific (from Barton to Albaneseathon) - enunciated with panache and clarity.

Jay Laga’aia was the Pirate King and chief of Police. Whilst he didn’t swing from a rope aka Jon English he played a mean ukulele.

Given one of the most demanding assignments you could dream up Brittanie Shipway played the soprano role of Mabel  and alto of Ruth. Brittanie was a tour deforce and deserves to be paid double time for pulling off the incredible feat. But such a big sing of opera proportions might be hard to sustain eight times a week.

The last scene proved an exceptional challenge when the Pirates are on stage fighting the Policemen.  Billie Palin, the onstage swing earnt a huge laugh when this conundrum got her into a tangle.

The musical accompaniment was a little on the thin side, patched together by a lone keyboardist with sound effects, the upright piano and occasional flourishes from  cast on various instruments.

It was a relief to have a few songs performed as originally written. The acapella rendition of ‘Hail Poetry’ was beautiful and the choreography and performance of ‘A Paradox’ was delightful. It would bring a smile to the face of any Gilbert and Sullivan purist. Other aspects of the production including lighting and sound balance were also excellent.

Carroll showed he has a great love for G & S, borrowing a song from Patience at the beginning of the second act. He has a good ear for updated rhyme and saucy lyrics.   The Hayes has done Pirates and HMS Pinafore now.  What next? Can The Mikado possibly be updated?  Now that would be a challenge.

David Spicer

Photographer: John McCrae