The Pirates of Penzance

[John Philpott]

One of the luxuries of being retired is the possibility of attending matinee performances. I took advantage of this yesterday to attend the 2.00 showing of the Pirates of Penzance at the Brookside Theatre Romford, where the part of Major General Stanley was being played by none other than ex-ECF President CJ de Mooi.

At the start I had an Alex Holowczak/Robert Thompson moment as I realised than in the small and select audience (which was marginally outnumbered by the cast) I seemed to be by some margin the youngest person present. When proceedings got under way, a good time appeared to be had by all, although CJ told me afterwards that partly as a result of the size of the audience this had been the flattest show so far.

The show was perfomed without cuts, either to the music (save for a truncated overture, although I still have not worked out why "Climbing over rocky mountain" was presented in a jazzed up arrangement, or why a non-canonical duet for the Pirate King and Samuel was introduced in the first Act) or to the words (which had the downside of making the audience sit through the whole of the interminable "orphan" joke). A young and hard working cast provided an excellent afternoon's entertainment: I particularly enjoyed the perfomances of Stiofan O'Doherty as the Pirate King and Thomas Norman as the Sergeant of Police.

What of the artist formerly known as the Dear Leader? I was not sure what to expect, but I was impressed. It cannot be easy to come on stage towards the end of the Act 1 and launch immediately into the Major General's song, but CJ carried this off with aplomb: word perfect, excellent diction and a pleasing and strong baritone voice. Some of his acting thereafter seemed a little "stagey", but it fitted in well with this production, and he is after all building up to playing the villain Beauty and the Beast at the Shaw Theatre in December.

I had a relatively brief conversation with CJ afterwards. This concentrated on CJ's acting career which he indicated was the only goal that he wants to be pursuing now: we did not discuss the ECF, from which he has clearly moved on in his own mind, just as he has moved on from Eggheads, and I hope he enjoys every success in his future endeavours. I just wish he could have taken the decision to move on before rather than after the Director nomination deadline!

[Kevin Thurlow]

"It cannot be easy to come on stage towards the end of the Act 1 and launch immediately into the Major General's song, "

I always thought that. Didn't Gilbert do something similar in the Sorcerer (albeit a bit earlier in the piece)?

[James Pratt]

I think the jazzed-up Pirates is the Ken Hill version. At the Gilbert & Sullivan Festival, at Buxton in 1998, the curtain opened to reveal the Cornish coast and two pirates actually playing a game and with the Lewis chessmen! Naturally it had to be adjudicated before it was discovered that, like CJ, they were all noblemen 'who had done wrong.'

[David Gilbert]

Pity CJ isn’y playing the policemen. Some might think the words to “When the Foeman bears his steel” mildly pertinent .....

Mabel sings

Go to death, and go to slaughter;
Die, and every Cornish daughter
With her tears your grave shall water.
Go, ye heroes, go and die!

Question is whether the cast came they anywhere close to Dennis Arrowsmith’s performance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEicdkW295c

or from the Australia the incredible Tim Tyler - can anyone else juggle with their mouth?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvAnJCLb ... re=related

or this one...which I also like
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAc5Z89SjH8

Maybe it’s in the genes! Steve Boniface was always looking for an opportunity to pair me with a Mr Sullivan!

[James Pratt]

There was a rewrite of Ko Ko's Little List in BCM c.1945 and mention therein of Ruddigore when England played Holland at Elevetham Hall about 30 years ago, Basingstoke, where I now live, being nearby. Anyways, David, enjoyed these clips. James