The Pirates of Penzance Junior

Opening with a bang … a canon … the ship came on stage, part of the side folded down and the pirates spilled onto stage. Very effective!

While I’m very familiar with The Pirates of Penzance, I haven’t previously encountered the junior version. Though the story line was unaltered, most songs had been cut down and some eliminated, trimming the running time to a little over an hour. Songs had been transposed into lower keys and there was little harmony.

However, the production was most entertaining.

The chorus and most of the soloists were in tune and the voices good. The computer generated backings were a bit restrictive, but the cast coped well.

Dominating the stage was James Gilmour as the Pirate King. He had the appropriate swagger, wonderful timing, a husky speaking voice, and strong singing voice. It’s a gem of a role and he made the most of it.

Aaron Buffham-Teakle was a good Frederick, Caitlin Lambourn a strong Ruth and Tenzin Fox a funny Major-General. Olivia Sproule as the Sergeant of Police had a lovely voice.

A little older than the others, the experienced Emily Crawford would have been better in the original version. She didn’t need to have her aria transposed down and her two duets were cut, so the role of Mabel became almost a minor character. We will hear much more of her.

There was a large chorus and the choreography worked well, but it was the enthusiasm of the young cast which won the day.

Graham Ford