3.5 STARS, June 13-17. Performance Preparation Academy gives us an exuberant and colourful Pirates of Penzance, says Alice Cairns
A bright, ludicrous story that’s rich in political satire – the PPA’s performance of The Pirates of Penzance is calculated to raise your spirits in the aftermath of the general election.
It’s an operetta in which nothing should be taken seriously. It features a fateful confusion between the words ‘pilot’ and ‘pirate’, a gang of pirates with a soft spot for orphans, and a 22 year old man who’s yet to reach his sixth birthday due to dire astronomical coincidence.
Our hero, Frederic, is tormented by a particularly sensitive and overdeveloped sense of duty. As a child he was mistakenly apprenticed to a ragtag band of orphaned pirates. Now, newly freed from his apprenticeship, he falls for the daughter of the Major General. But their courtship is stopped in its tracks when the Pirate King stumbles on a way to lure the dutiful Frederic back to the pirate life.
This PPA production draws out the fun and exuberance of Gilbert and Sullivan’s best-known work. Honor O’Neill’s choreography is energetic and athletic – the cast drew gasps from the audience with their gymnastic feats during ensemble pieces. The staging is also comic and inventive. At one point, the Pirate King tumbled from the stage only to reappear moments later on top of a grassy mound. At another, a puppet seagull flew down and perched on Mabel’s arm, bobbing in time to her sparkling coloratura.
The set is sparse: a grassy mound in the first Act, an ancestral tomb in the second. The simple backdrop allows Louise Pieri’s costumes to stand out, bringing enough vivid colour to complement the larger than life performances. The costumes weren’t unified around any particular time period instead, we were treated to a technicolour mix of 1920s school uniforms, Victorian nightcaps, and Hi-Vis modern police jackets. Maximum comic potential was drawn from Frederic’s piratical jumper, which had extendable sleeves and could be transformed into a dress at a tug from Nicky Watts’ plucky Ruth.
The company is undoubtedly talented, although Gilbert and Sullivan may not be their natural home. The songs were often a little loud, or delivered with musical theatre inflection which sometimes made the words difficult to hear. At the end of both Acts the cast unexpectedly broke into gospel, giving rousing renditions of Oh Happy Day. Although the song itself felt a little confusing and out of place to me, it was well suited to the voices of the cast and was therefore excellently sung.
It’s certainly true that the operatta style didn’t suit every voice, but the multi-talented cast offered numerous compensations. Joseph Hewlett gave a dashing performance as the earnest Frederic. Caitlin Swanton drew preening comic potential from the role of Mabel, but was also effective at more melancholic moments. Brilliant comic verve was shown by both Nicole Lockwood-West as the Sergeant of Police, and Christian Tyler-Wood as the roguish Pirate King. His performance of When You Had Left Our Pirate Fold along with Frederick and Ruth was a high point of the evening. The company had limited room for musicians, but a handful of performers nevertheless provided enthusiastic support to the singers. At a pivotal moment, the conductor even appeared in a wig and coronet as Queen Victoria.
An extremely flexible and talented company, the PPA performers gave a delightfully bright and breezy rendition of The Pirates of Penzance.
Check out Theatre/Arts Section for more great local thespian news, reviews and interviews
You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates on our latest articles
Sign up to our Weekly Newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and stories
Looking to advertise your business in Surrey or SW London? Check out our 11 different lifestyle magazines with a combined monthly distribution of over 210,000
