Charles
Court Opera at
The King's Head Theatre
07.09.2012
Charles
Court Opera's compact, pocket-sized Pirates is set in a child's
bedroom – rocking horse, toy box, pirate ship on the bookshelf –
and a window prominent downstage left.
Enter
through it, not Peter Pan, but Captain Hook, or his Pirate King
lookalike, played here with a nod to Fawlty and boundless brio by
John Savournin, who also directed this hugely entertaining operetta.
Followed, over the course of the action, by other "mad
intruders", none madder than Amy J Payne's gurning, scheming
Ruth, a superbly sustained comic creation. In a less promising role,
Matthew Kellett is hilarious as Samuel, especially when he
masquerades as a police constable, sidekick to Simon
Masterson-Smith's hangdog Sergeant.
Since
this is a reduced production, that's about the size of the Force, and
Major-General Stanley, like Lear, has just three daughters. Ian
Jervis's take on this iconic role is traditional but totally
engaging; I loved his nightshirt with the uniform braid. His three
little maids are beautifully characterized, with Charlotte Baptie's
Edith and Nichola Jolley's Kate the gorgeous ugly sisters to
Alexandra Hutton's Cordelia, a wonderfully entrancing Mabel. Their
entrance, and her big number, are creatively choreographed: the girls
are constantly on the move, without missing a beat of the intricate
score. I've often heard Poor Wandering One as exquisitely sung, but
never seen it so well interpreted dramatically. Hutton is well
matched by her Slave of Duty – Kevin Kyle's dashing Frederick, a
splendid Savoyard tenor.
Vocally,
the whole cast is impeccable. Oh Poetry sounds incredible as a
septet, and the piano reduction for four hands is played with panache
by the Eaton-Young duo, of which the MD David Eaton is half, with
répétiteur James Young sharing the stool.
Savournin's
production is witty and fresh, but no liberties are taken either with
Gilbert or with Sullivan, though the tongue does sometimes stray
towards the cheek. Indeed, the satire comes up very sharp, the Death
and Glory ensemble underlined, in a touch of pure genius, by spelling
out key words with alphabet blocks from the toybox – a great idea
deftly executed. And how refreshing to be in a G&S audience –
packed out on Press Night - where so many are clearly coming to the
show for the first time: the bons mots new-minted, the paradox and
the plot twists delightfully unexpected. And for all of us, the grime
of years and the layers of varnish are stripped away, revealing the
sparkling masterpiece beneath.
This
enterprising company has already given its Pinafore and its Mikado.
Plenty more fish in the Savoy Opera sea – Patience next, perhaps ?
this piece first appeared on The Public Reviews
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