 | Christchurch Gilbert and Sullivan Society | |
|
| ||||
| If you weren't at the first performance on Boxing Day 1871, or at one of the others until the show's closure the following March, chances are that you have never seen this first ever Gilbert and Sullivan collaboration, as performances have been few and far between. Christchurch G&S Society's production, which comes thanks to founder Nigel Finch's internet quest, may or may not be close to the original - the music was lost and the score has been put together using other Sullivan music. What is in no doubt is the plot, in which a theatrical troupe takes over Mount Olympus for a year so that the elderly gods can go down to earth to find out why they are no longer popular. The chaos that | follows is pure Gilbertian topsy-turveydom. Unfortunately, perhaps due to the Olympian fog, at times I found it nearly impossible to hear what people were singing about. That apart however, this is an enjoyable and worthwhile revival with some delightful characters - not least the gods (Zachary Higgins, John Ponting, Brian Morgan, Sue Higgins and Sally Lucas) and Thespis, the theatrical manager (Stephen Adams). There is a fine set, excellent lighting, imaginative staging - I loved Mercury's 'air-hostess' mime - lovely music, good chorus work and a fine second-act ballet. | |||