Pirates of Penzance 19/5
I only saw this because David Hobson was in it. Again, choose a seat near the back and couldn’t even listen to the CD I’d borrowed out. It didn’t meet my expectations. It exceeded them by so much! All I knew going in was what I’d read on the information sheet I got going in. That was all you needed to know.
It was a complete spectacle! The aim of the show was to take the mickey out of itself. I was mentally bagging the lighting department for having flickering lightbulbs until one learnt that was part of the show. Set changes, intermission and overtures were thus rendered entertaining. I refused to use the restroom during intermission because of this.
Warlow was far better than my cast recording. It was an obvious ripping off of ‘Jack Sparrow’ from Pirates, yet it worked so well. The same characteristics that made Jack such an appealing character fit the tone of the performance. Vocally Warlow carried it off spendidly. I only wish I’d bought the DVD.
The hilarity ensued. ‘Poor Wandering One’ was fantastic – watching Frederic attempt to find where the notes were coming from. ‘When you had left our pirate fold was alliteration at its best – all those q’s! That one song managed to sum up the entire mood of the performance: deadly jovial.
I loved the policeman. I was tarantara-ing for days afterwards. It was even funner when they appeared later in the performance, seemingly hanging from the sides of the stage.
Seeing this is was like opening up an entire new and brilliant word. I’m never listening to a gilbert and sullivan CD until I can see it live. You lose a certain something by being able to preempt the performance. Next month (October) I am seeing a local production of ‘The Mikado’.
I do hope they bring more down to Melbourne.