 | Christchurch Gilbert and Sullivan Society | |
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| A stylish musical treat was enjoyed by all who saw the Christchurch Gilbert and Sullivan Society performance of H.M.S. Pinafore. The set was excellent and was designed to allow as much room as possible on the stage for the dancing of the numerous chorus members. Zachary Higgins brought the house down with his portrayal of Sir Joseph Porter as a camp leader of the navy. His singing was very clear and he managed to emphasise the 'camp' language in Gilbert & Sullivan to really bring out the humour.His timing was excellent - the best seen since Michael Crawford. Leonard Godfrey as the captain of 'H.M.S. Pinafore' had a resounding voice which filled the Regent Centre. He sang with tremendous authority - but still managed to portray the pathos of the complicated character, so the plot could easily be followed. John Love was very believable as the poor lovelorn Ralph, his opening song 'The nightingale sighed' setting a high standard for the rest of the performance. The chorus accompanying him werevery supporting but often seemed hampered by the size of the stage. The designer, Richard Whiteside, had built a ship's bridge and the director could have made greater use of this in the choreography. Ralph's love, Josephine, was played by Olwen Kieser. It was the second time she had played this part, and she certainly gave a polished and sparkling performance. Her singing was truly accurate and conveyed all the emotions of a young girl in love. Not surprisingly, Ms. Kieser majored at university in singing and her performance reflected a professional ability. | Suge Higgins, a bumboat woman named Little Buttercup, was most impressive when she sang about mistakenly swapping the babies at birth. The Captain was born to poverty and Ralph to riches - a typical Gilbert & Sullivan theme - mocking the British class system. Brian Morgan, the boatswain's mate, gave an agile and energetic performance - firstly harmonising with Buttercup and then giving a very impressive performance in the trio 'British Tar'. It is only his second year with the Christchurch company and he will certainly be leaping to greater parts with such a distinctive musical voice. Jill Nuthall made a great characterisation of Cousin Hebe and had zest and a great deal of stage presence. The lighting let her down a little as the bonnet she wore sometimes put her face in complete shadow. Dick Deadeye was a truly horrible and slimy character - played by Brian Davies. It must be difficult to sing from such a crunched position, however, he always hit the right note in character which allowed the leads to develop their parts meaningfully. The orchestra, under the direction of conductor Nigel Finch, was led by Natalie Elbrow and kept a professional standard throughout. The volume was balanced for each performer and was always melodic and rhythmic. The musical demonstrated the high standard the society is capable of, not only in leading character performances; but also in the chorus and production design. Nigel Finch, the musical director is to be congratulated for creating such a musical delight. | |||