Review: The Pirates of Penzance

This week, Central Hall plays host to The Pirates of Penzance – a famous comic opera and magnificent satire, about the snobbish values of the late Victorian era. The Gilbert and Sullivan society’s opening night was outstandingly original, riotously exhilarating and an all-round top evening.

Andrea Eklund as Mabel stole the show with her vocal and comedic skill steering the performing ship through its charming antics – the captivating virtuoso complimented Dan Stanford’s solid – and, in parts, excellent – performance as Fredrick, with a notably kooky, energetic range of talent shining through.

Artistic directors Lauren and Chris Charlton-Mathews have evidently devoted an enormous amount of time and consideration to every detail, expertly achieving this whimsical quality – the end result a very satisfying, cohesive piece. Chris has overseen every Central Hall G&S production since 2002 and this might well be his best yet; it takes real talent to make something this entertaining and amusing look so effortless. Like all comic opera and farce, the plot is complicated, but the directors coped well and ensured the audience were never left in the dark.

As Pirates and Police, the chorus’ energy, inventiveness and imagination mixed well with some almost slapstick activity employed brilliantly throughout. The entire ensemble exhibits an almost telepathic chemistry that is joyously fun to watch, and the inventive choreography is never predictable.

And Ciaran Rafferty, though he doesn’t have the menacingly deep baritone you might expect from the Pirate King, keeps the audience engrossed with his hyperbolic, engaging performance.

The cast rightly made the most of the tremendous set, and the costume design eschews the stiff garb of the Victorian era for a style more in keeping with the free-spiritedness feel.

Stijn Hanson was superb as Major-General Stanley, impressively ridiculing the Victorian superciliousness whilst at the same time articulately executing some Python-esque humor and witty social satire. Morven Hamilton (Ruth) and Jake Mufflet (Sergeant of Police) both excelled, and musical director Dan Meeson and his orchestra admirably maintained their quality throughout. And just those tiny extras like the ostensibly accidental Pirates of the Caribbean theme-tune sounding at the beginning of the production, mixed with the modern airship and sails, made the performance all the more fascinating.

The society first performed The Pirates of Penzance in 1973, when the university was just 10 years old, and in 2007 they were at it again. But personally I can’t see them putting on a much better performance than this year’s success again – with the likes of the Pirate King and Mabel making it the very model of a modern major adaption of Gilbert and Sullivan.

With tickets available on the door, you can see The Pirates of Penzance at Central Hall tonight (Friday) at 7:30pm, and tomorrow at 2:30pm and 7:30pm.