Review

ENO's The Pirates of Penzance makes for bright, light entertainment - review

Pirates of Penzance
Andrew Shore as Major-General Stanley in The Pirates of Penzance Credit: Alastair Muir

Before I don my critic’s black cap and pass to judgment, let me state firmly that Mike Leigh’s production of The Pirates of Penzance makes for a very jolly evening, and that its first revival is in some respects superior to the show’s original version unveiled two years ago. A full house drawn from a wide social demographic gave it a rousing reception: right now, this is just what ENO needs.

But it has to be said that Leigh’s treatment remains so respectful of tradition and Gilbert’s text as to err on the side of bland good taste, leaving the comedy very gentle and the energy level low. Visually, the baby has also been thrown out with the bathwater: determinedly avoiding the usual Victorian toy-theatre approach, Alison Chitty’s abstract sets – solid panels of acrylic colour, cut through with a telescopic or porthole circle – evoke nothing so much as a box of plastic bricks that you’d buy for a two-year-old at the Early Learning Centre.

The Pirates of Penzance
David Webb, Ashley Riches and the ensemble of The Pirates of Penzance Credit: Alastair Muir

The other problem is even more intractable. The Coliseum is simply too hugely cavernous for such a modest enterprise. Hard as its members try, the cast can’t project the dialogue snappily enough in the difficult acoustic, and subtleties do not register. Gilbert must be spinning in his grave at the way that the laughs come from witten surtitles rather than from what comes out of the mouths of the performers. Better this, however, than electronic amplification.

Enough grumping. The singing is largely excellent. Soraya Mafi is an adorable little minx of a Mabel, singing with diamantine accuracy and clarity – old-timers will be impressed if I say that her scintillating “Poor wand’ring one” was in the Valerie Masterson class. David Webb’s sweet, light tenor made him a charming Frederic, and Ashley Riches brought an appropriate touch of the good-natured head-boy to the nobly born Pirate King.

The Pirates of Penzance
Andrew Shore in The Pirates of Penzance Credit: Alastair Muir

John Tomlinson does a nicely understated comic turn as the lugubrious Sergeant of Police, and Lucy Schaufer makes a splendidly gutsy Ruth, albeit one whose vowels seemed closer to those of Massachusetts than those of Cornwall. Andrew Shore does the Major-General’s song with aplomb. The chorus relishes its opportunity to frolic as pirates, policemen, and simpering maidens.

Add to the mix an orchestra playing perkily under Gareth Jones’ steady baton, and the result is a bright light entertainment, all the more welcome given these dark chill times.

The Pirates of Penzance is playing at the London Coliseum until March 4. Book your tickets now to avoid disappointment at tickets.telegraph.co.uk or by calling: 0844 871 2118​

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