All aboard for all-male G&S
Live recording of The Pirates of Penzance currently screening
HERE’s a treat for G&S fans, of which there are many around Newbury, Sasha Regan’s all-male The Pirates of Penzance is screening until April 5 on www.Stream
Due to popular demand, the awardwinning all-male take on WS Gilbert & Arthur Sullivan’s comic opera was recorded live at the Palace Theatre London in December, just before Lockdown 2, and this recent streaming has made a very welcome comeback over Easter.
Expect a much-needed dose of musical comedy in the comfort and safety of home as it features gorgeous pirates and their winsome Victorian love interests.
The perfect tonic to raise spirits and a show the whole family will enjoy.
Packed with comedy, romance, clumsy policemen, bonkers adventures and an abundance of men in petticoats, it will put a stop to lockdown gloom.
Frederic, a pirate’s apprentice, is in love with Mabel, the daughter of MajorGeneral Stanley, but will his leap year birthday prevent him from breaking with duty into the arms of Mabel? Featuring a dazzling shipshape cast singing songs including: I Am A Pirate King, Oh, Happy Day, With Joyous Glee, and A Rollicking Band of Pirates We. They are sure to raise your living room roof.
The Pirates of Penzance is one of Gilbert & Sullivan’s best-known and much-loved classic operettas and this production was recorded in a theatre founded by Richard D’Oyly Carte in the 1800s as the Royal English Opera House. D’Oyly Carte, who was already producing comic operas at his Savoy Theatre, decided to commission the ornate Gothic building as a home for grand operas.
The Royal English Opera House opened 10 years after the Savoy Theatre which championed Gilbert & Sullivan’s wellknown ‘Savoy operas’. Although their operettas never ran at the Royal English Opera House, in a nod to the two men D’Oyly Carte opened in January 1891 with Sir Arthur Sullivan’s Ivanhoe.
Sadly, D’Oyly Carte’s cherished opera house came under financial pressure, leaving him with no alternative but to lease it and eventually sell it within one year of opening.
Throughout his life, D’Oyly Carte managed Gilbert & Sullivan and nurtured their careers, including setting up the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company. Together these men introduced a new way of presenting light opera to families, touring these works to bring them out to the wider community.
Sasha Regan’s production was first staged at her original 50-seater Union Theatre in Southwark over a decade ago. From day one it became a critically acclaimed overnight hit, winning Best Off-West End production in the 2009 WhatsOnStage Awards. Following several sell-out runs in the UK, the merry band of pirates toured Australia including a three-week run at the Sydney Theatre thanks to Cate Blanchett then the co-artistic director. It enjoyed another sell-out run at Wilton’s Music Hall last year.
Expect plenty of hilarity from the swashbuckling crew.
The performance will be streamed on: https://www.stream.theatre/season/26 Performance dates and times:
Thursday, April 1, 7.30pm
Friday, April 2, 7.30pm (Good Friday) Saturday, April 3, 2.30pm and 7.30pm Sunday, April 4, 5pm (Easter Sunday) Monday, April 5, 5pm (Easter Monday) Tickets: All tickets £15 + booking fee This is a ticketed event and only available at the scheduled dates and times. https://www.stream.theatre/ season/26
CAST: Tom Senior (Frederic); Oliver Savile (Pirate King); Alan Richardson (Mabel); Leon Craig (Ruth); David McKechnie (Major-General Stanley); Marc Akinfolarin (Sergeant of Police); Michael Burgen (Samuel); Lee Greenaway (Connie); Dominic Harbison (Kate); Richard Russell Edwards (Isabel); Sam Kipling (Edith); Benjamin Vivian-Jones (Ensemble); Daniel Miles (Ensemble); Jamie Chidzey (Ensemble); Joel Elferink (Ensemble); Tom Duern (Ensemble); Matthew Facchino (Ensemble); Richard Baker (piano) – musical director.