The Ruddy marvellous ‘Ruddigore’ goes local
WHETHER staging popular musicals like My Fair Lady or standards of the Gilbert and Sullivan repertoire such as The Mikado, Cape Town’s G&S company has proved time and again that commitment to this branch of the performing arts can place amateur productions on a par with those mounted by professionals.
Ruddigore, that fanciful farrago of intrigue, occult shenanigans and romance, provides this company with all the material requisite to showcase their collective prowess as singers, actors and dancers.
As if the work was not sufficiently zany, director Buckle has enhanced its quirkiness by setting it in Kalk Bay and updating it to 1953, giving a South African flavour to the British character of the original.
Thus the protea replaces the rose in bridal bouquets, crime is epitomised by the theft of fish and chips from Kalky’s, and the catch-word to allay mental hysteria is “Muizenberg”.
During an extended overture in which Gothic portent and midnight bell-chimes coexist with the sprightly rhythms of the hornpipe, vintage photographs of Kalk Bay and Simon’s Town, elaborately framed, create the ambiance of this production.
Waldo Buckle’s imaginative set combines traditional props with image projection to provide an eye-pleasing backdrop to the action, and David Pamplin’s whimsical costumes echo the eclectic nature of this work. Each of the many bridesmaids peopling the stage is assigned a year and an ensemble to match, from the fringed shift of the 1920s Flapper to the softer drapery of the early 1950s Sophisticate. The result, when the female chorus fills the stage, is an extravaganza of pastel-hued fashion history.
Tableaux play a major part in this production, with a judicious use of stage space and effective lighting (courtesy of Faheem Bardien) creating visual delights.
As for the singing, there is no shortage of lung power among the performers.
Male leads Barend van der Westhuizen, Niel Koekemoer and Stephan le Roux deliver handsomely; Sian Atterbury is a sweet-voiced Rose Maybud, and the rich tones of Monika Voysey in the role of Rose’s redoubtable Aunt Hannah fill the auditorium. Kerryn Warren’s vocal prowess matches her acting ability in the challenging part of Mad Margaret, to which she brings a touch of nutty humour.
Best of all are the duets, trios, and choruses as voices of different registers combine in robust harmony to deliver the lyrics that have made Gilbert and Sullivan works a perennial favourite with audiences for many a decade – and full marks to Cockburn and instrumentalists from the CTPO for their reliable accompaniment to this off-the-wall operetta.
Its content may be shallow as a rock pool on Muizenberg beach, but the collective passion in staging it is irreproachable.