King’s Head Theatre – until 11 May 2019
Reviewed by Claire Roderick
5*****
Charles Court Opera carry the audience away on waves of delight with their latest production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore. With a talented cast of eight, the glorious silliness of the story doesn’t feel diminished, with the lack of a large chorus allowing the ridiculous characters to shine.
The H.M.S. Pinafore becomes a brightly coloured submarine, with Rachel Szmukler’s charming design feeling like a set from CBeebies. Captain Corcoran runs a tight ship and is thrilled when the First Lord of the Admiralty, Sir Joseph Porter, wishes to marry his daughter Josephine. Josephine is in love with a lowly able seaman, Ralph Rackstraw, but knows that she must marry a man of suitable station. When the couple finally declare their love for each other their plan to elope is thwarted by dastardly Dick Deadeye, but this leads to a typical last-minute G&S twist that sorts everything out for the protagonists so that it all ends on a jolly note. Fluffy nonsense of the highest order.
With only three able seamen, and Sir Joseph’s gaggle of female followers cut down to one sister, one cousin and an aunt (carried around in an urn and emoted to by the hilariously expressive Catrine Kirkman as Cousin Hebe), there is plenty of room onstage for Damian Czarnecki’s quirky choreography, handled with great humour by the cast and capturing the celebratory tone of the production.
As the young lovers Ralph and Josephine, Philip Lee and Alys Roberts are outstanding, with Roberts’ beautiful voice soaring in her emotional solos. Joseph Shovelton is a hoot as Sir Joseph, like the lovechild of David Brent and Leslie Phillips, acing the pompous comedy of the character and his undeserved rise to a position of clueless power. Matthew Palmer impresses as Captain Corcoran, and his scenes with the irrepressible Jennie Jacobs as Little Buttercup are fantastically awkward. The crew is rounded off by Matthew Kellett as Dick Deadeye (cartoon villainy of the highest order) and the wonderfully physical Hannah Crerar as Bobstay.
Accompanied only by David Eaton on piano, the cast’s voices work together magnificently. Energetic, uplifting and hilarious, this show is a visual and aural delight.