Review of 'Pinafore'

By Steve Evans

As theatregoers we should, by now, be way beyond pouting and thumping the cushions whenever one of our cultural icons is updated or transferred to a new setting.

It has been done so well with Shakespeare and, more recently, with Gilbert and Sullivan’s operettas, that we must be prepared to walk into the theatre with an open mind – which is exactly what the writers themselves had.

Since Joseph Papp’s sensational 1980 revamp of Pirates of Penzance, G&S has had new life breathed into it in all sorts of ways and the Cotswold Savoyards’ joined in the fun by beaming HMS Pinafore up to the world of Star Trek.

Updates, for me, have one criterion only – do they work? If the director and designers have had to shoehorn the words and music into their clever idea, then it’s a failure. This clearly was not – the characters and situations fitted easily with a few tweaks and nods to the new setting… and what a bit of luck that Captain Corcoran could become Captain Kirkoran. It was too good to miss.

Everything else just fell into place on a well-designed monochrome set which left plenty of room for Toni Coles’s witty chorography, delivered by a well-drilled chorus.

One thing that often seems to happen with G&S updates is that the cast, free from the Savoyard conventions, act with a great deal more verve, energy and originality and this was very much the case in Simon Young’s production. Chorus and principals worked together extremely well to give us a seamless show which had pace, wit, a touch of harmless smut and, of course, the breathtakingly beautiful melodies of Sullivan.

I would have only one quibble with the singing. Gilbert made life difficult for soloists and chorus alike with his intricate lyrical structures and placed a huge demand on their diction; unfortunately some of the lyrics in this show were lost in both in the solo and chorus numbers.

However, the principal performances were a joy. Top honours go to Paul Scott for a deliciously camp Sir Joseph Porter; his timing and control generated rarely-heard wells of laughter, followed closely by Victoria Long for a raunchy Little Buttercup whose vocal gymnastics and overt sexuality would leave most of today’s rock divas back in the dressing room.

Michael Pandazis brought a delightfully naive charm to the role of the slightly bemused Captain Kircoran and his pleasant voice and excellent diction were a perfect counterpoint to the shambolic goings on around him as the USS Pinafore’s crew devoted their time and energy to anything but boldly going etc.

Ralph Barnes was a charming Ralph Rackstraw with a beautiful tenor voice and Beverley Loutfy simpered and simmered as Kircoran’s sought-after daughter Josephine.

Simon Lewis raised many a laugh, but thankfully not his kilt, as Dick McDeadeye (he even managed to squeeze in ‘ye cannae change the laws of physics’) and a delightful cameo was provided by Keith Franklin as Mr Bobstay, though any resemblance to Mr Spock was purely illogical!

Saturday night’s audience had a great time – the feelgood factor was tangible and the audience profile was relatively young and very un-G&S, an encouraging sign and a source of justifiable pride to the Savoyards.

The ignorant may talk of Gilbert and Sullivan turning in their graves at the thought of their branchild being tampered with – yet it is hard to imagine the great social commentator Gilbert keeping his hands off contemporary telly programmes had he been around in the late 20th century.

What next? How about Princess Ida set in the Big Brother (or Big Sister) house…