Jack Studio Theatre – until 4 December 2021
2 ½ **
Reviewed by Claire Roderick
The lives of Anne Bonny and Mary Read and the story of how they became pirates is full of fire, passion and adventure, all sadly lacking in this production.
With very few cold hard facts to draw on, apart from the trial records of the pirate crew, writer Claire Novello could have gone to town with the narrative and created an exciting portrayal of the women’s stories. The approach taken has more of the feel of an enthusiastic teacher’s jazzed up history lesson.
The reasons behind Read’s (Justine Marie Mead) living as a man and Anne Bonny’s (Eliza Shea) deception to join her husband Calico Jack (Duncan Drury) on board his ship are explained by the women describing their childhoods and youth, and the freedom and adventure both find in the world of men is, almost, celebrated. The joy and exhilaration that both the talented actors could easily portray is muted through a stilted script and insipid lyrics. The play is written in rhyme, and this leads to torturous sentences and rhythms that begin to grate. Narrator Mark Nicolson at least adds a panto vibe to his delivery with nods and winks at the audience and tongue firmly in cheek.
Musically, Frederick Appleby’s songs all follow the same coherent theme, but this means there is no light and shade, and they all blend into one. Lyrically, they add nothing to the production, repeating or pre-empting the actors’ speeches, and all feeling at least one chorus too long. Described as a musical play, there is very little action, with most songs and scenes involving a slow saunter across the stage at most. The love songs are passionless and the all-important battle scene when the pirates are captured is very low key. A cast of four means there cannot be huge crowd scenes, but four actors can do a lot to provide dynamic visuals. Director Kenneth Michaels’ choice to have only the person speaking or singing mobile during most scenes misfires hugely. It’s all very well-meaning and educational, but there’s no heart.
These fearless women’s story should be portrayed with a defiant roar – this production whispers politely.