It’s not easy to predict whether or not an updated version of a Gilbert and Sullivan will increase the number of ticket sales to a perhaps otherwise uninitiated audience, but by the number of young people attending on Thursday evening I would say that it probably did do so.

I missed the first 10 minutes or so due to a horrendous traffic jam and the first thing that struck me on settling in my seat was the large number of sailors onstage. On closer inspection I realised that several of them were girls. Normally I don’t think it’s a good idea to do this as the ladies are always obviously female, but because you were staging this particular version, and because the ladies did it so well, it didn’t matter a jot.  As an experienced ‘cross actor’ Aileen Smith made the best ‘man’ followed closely by Amanda Lapping (Please take that as a compliment!)

The set was good and the benefit of having the upper deck and stairs made the action much more interesting than a flat set would have allowed.  Pat Martin’s stage direction and Lea Stock’s choreography followed the traditional style for G and S and in that respect it wasn’t apparent what the difference was between the traditional and newer version. Both of these members of the production team presented an attractive entertainment and under the musical direction of Howard Chapman the show moved along nicely.

On my arrival, Ralph was singing ‘A maiden fair to see’ and he was struggling a little with the top notes but Tony Douch’s voice in the lower register was very pleasant.

In the role of Josephine, Paula Trott sang and acted very well. It was not easy to see her and Ralph as a couple because of the difference in their height, and had she worn flat ballet style shoes they would have looked more suitably matched. During a couple of her numbers her mike was too high distorting her voice a little.

Mike Davenport gave a super performance as Captain Corcoran and his diction and vocals were first class. The choreography in the Captain’s song was good but there was far too much crossing the stage during the dialogue with Josephine and her father  

This production certainly does put a different emphasis on Dick Deadeye and I liked Blake McAdam in this part. He had great stage presence, lots of energy and put the songs over well. There were also some wonderfully camp moments that the audience enjoyed, and his wig and make up added to his ‘rock’ image.

Roy Selfe was matchless as Sir Joseph Porter and without actually singing carried the character to new heights and was the cause of much laughter.

The sisters , cousins and aunts were well represented by Donna Marshall, Maggie Dean, Ayse Dogan-Winter, Kath Hind and Jenny Poore. They sang strongly and performed competently. They looked splendid in their red, white and blue crinolines.

Playing the part of Buttercup Adele Jones gave a lively performance and sang well, and I enjoyed her two numbers with the Captain in Act Two.  

There was plenty going on in ‘This Very Night’ and the movements in all the numbers were well rehearsed. Perhaps casting women as sailors upped the men’s game a bit on the movement front.

Finales in both acts were impressive and generally speaking this particular version made for a more visually attractive show.

Pinafore is one of the less popular G and S’s and has longish spells with little action but the audience brightened up considerably when the moments of comedy, and there were plenty, came to the fore.

Make-up and wigs were good and the lighting was nicely plotted and competently operated.

Your programme is, as always, attractive and easy to navigate and you always have something interesting in the biography section.

Good luck with your next venture, one that I understand will give an opportunity for newcomers to stage direction to take on a section of their own. An excellent idea that I’m sure the company will benefit from in the future.

HMS Pinafore was a good evening’s entertainment and I thank you for inviting me to see the production and also for your hospitality in the interval.

E. Gloria Smith
NODA Representative District 12