MADAM,

Having endured a five-and-a-half hour car journey from London, and hurtling five minutes late into a packed theatre at The Savoy in Monmouth on a Friday evening, one could be forgiven for thinking they were in the West End.

As a boy, I remember my grandfather whistling and humming Gilbert and Sullivan tunes and he knew all the lyrics by heart. My knowledge of Gilbert and Sullivan is limited, but as I watched the production unfold before me, brought bang up to date with parody and satirical references even to the chairman of Volkswagen, I realised how timeless, contemporary and extremely clever the lyrical writing of W.S. Gilbert was superbly synergised with his musical counterpart, Arthur Sullivan.

The Pirates of Penzance is actually a comic opera, and was officially premiered at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City in December 1879 where it was well received, and then in London four months later where it ran for 363 performances.

This production was vibrant; full of life and energy. Instead of a predictable ‘us and them’ division between the main character roles and the chorus, I saw a seamless act, with everyone working together effectively and clearly enjoying themselves which transfused into the audience.

Kevin Passey’s interpretation of the Pirate King held a strong and amusing central position, and for all the right reasons, exhibited Captain Pugwashesque tendencies to great effect.

Adrian Bevan’s rendition of Frederick reminded me of Michael Praed’s performance at Drury Lane in 1982: assertive, confident with a swaggering sexiness and perfect execution of the role. He cleverly used his voice to suit the character and this worked well.

Jess Martin (Mabel), who I was told is only 15, definitely has a singing career ahead of her and is someone to watch out for. A compelling overall performance.

Reuben Jones never fails to impress or entertain. The focussed approach he applies to all his roles always comes off, and his caricature of Major General Stanley was no exception, possibly his most successful yet, after his recent powerful Fagin in Oliver.

Robert Hudson (Samuel), Rachel Parker (Kate), Andrea Pole (Edith), Jess Netherway (Isabel) and Katie Ellis (Ruth) gave brilliant individual support to a wonderful cast.

There were also some highly amusing and cleverly choreographed and directed cameos of individual performances most notably by Kate Russell (the director) in the policeman’s lot scene. Understated and laughing gear fully guaranteed.

Bill Mackie’s strong professional operatic bass voice added colourful gravitas to the keystone proceedings.

The whole performance was given solid support by musical director Ian Russell and accompanist Helen Stidolph who ably tackled tricky technical passages with apparent ease.

Overall, the stage director Kate Russell, must be congratulated for so successfully engineering a difficult fusion of acting, singing and choreography together making for a hugely successful evening’s entertainment.

I look forward to seeing The Wizard of Oz in April 2016.

Nelson Whaley

(Monmouth)