The Pirates of Penzance

The bizarre and highly parodic nature of Gilbert and Sullivan is at its peak in this delightfully amusing and visually stunning production. The bold and colourful set design (Richard Roberts) has an immediate mesmerising effect. This is echoed in the equally beautiful execution of the costume design (Roger Kirk) and is reinforced with a perfectly tuned lighting design (Trudy Dalgleish). This results in an awe-inspiring production design which captivates the audience from beginning to end.

The characters are played with humour while preserving the sentimental elements of the story. Frederic (Nicholas Jones) has a good measure of naivety which gives reason to his ludicrous circumstances and renders his attachment to Mabel (Nina Korbe) genuine and affectionate. Ruth (Antoinette Halloran) is portrayed as both cheeky and bawdy and this helps to give her character depth and dimension. The Pirate King (Ben Mingay) has all the expected swashbuckling demeanour but exudes tenderness through Mingay’s excellent facial expressions. Sergeant of Police (Christopher Hillier) is played with a hint of poignancy and Richard Piper often steals the show with his tongue-in-cheek rendition of Major General Stanley. The singing is eloquent and beautiful, and Korbe, in particular, makes excellent use of her incredibly powerful voice.

The parody is perfectly captured in the combination of performance, singing and production design and is especially accentuated in the extremely artful choreography (Elizabeth Hill-Cooper, Anna Tsirigotis). The movement is always heavily loaded with meaning and executed with enormous precision and enthusiasm. The large and extremely talented ensemble cast also adds to the sense of grandeur of the production. The conductor, together with the brilliant Orchestra Victoria, is often made complicit with this playfulness, and this gives the show an enormous sense of cohesion. 

There is no aspect of this production that is not imbued with Gilbert and Sullivan’s unique style of comedy. It expertly locates the nature of the satire that pervades the text and then is ingenious in the way it embellishes and amplifies it.

Patricia Di Risio 

Photographer: Jeff Busby