Palace Theatre, London – until 13 December 2020
Reviewed by Claire Roderick
5*****
Sasha Regan’s All Male Pirates of Penzance is the gift that keeps on giving, a celebration of glorious silliness and sublime singing.
Incomparable musical director Richard Baker takes his seat at the piano and begins playing on the Harry Potter stage, empty apart from the Pirates’ few wooden crates, setting the audiences’ heads bobbing to the familiar tunes, and as soon as he is joined onstage by the ensemble it is obvious that you don’t need technical wizardry to create magic in this theatre.
Gilbert and Sullivan’s daft plot sees slave to duty Frederic (Tom Senior) leaving the Pirate King (Oliver Savile) and the crew on his 21st birthday at the end of his indenture, taking his nursemaid Ruth (Leon Craig) and vowing to destroy the pirates, until a handy paradox reveals that he is actually indentured to the Pirate King until 1940. Full of ridiculous characters – the unsuccessful pirates who never hurt orphans, the cowardly police officers and of course the very model of a modern Major-General and his excitable daughters – the show bounces along like an excited puppy, pausing for heartfelt romantic songs, but then following up with a huge laugh. Lizzi Gee’s exuberant and witty choreography is nailed by the magnificent ensemble, whose reactions and facial expressions are worth the ticket price alone. Sasha Regan’s brilliant direction keeps the show from straying into pantomime territory, and the slapstick serves the score rather than distracts from it. This is the perfect production to introduce new audiences to Gilbert and Sullivan.
Tom Senior impresses as dutiful Frederic, and Alan Richardson IS Mabel, sweet, funny, and determined to keep her man. Oliver Savile swaggers brilliantly as the Pirate King, David McKechnie is a wonderfully arch Major-General, and Leon Craig becomes more and more anarchic as Ruth, decked up in full PPA to feed the Major-General’s mighty steed.
The cast’s excitement and happiness being back onstage floods into the auditorium and only a true Scrooge wouldn’t be charmed by this joyful and unforgettable production