This play is darker and more tragic than other Gilbert and Sullivan collaborations. It is a familiar mix of orchestrated folk music, unrequited love triangles, contrived marriages and well-known people becoming completely unidentifiable by the means of a shave and a change of clothes. This is as fun and enjoyable as other G&S shows are.
However, in this show one of the central characters is a pitiful, tragic figure, a jester, Jack Point, desperate in his attempts to get a job and avoid an ugly mob, creepingly incompetent in love and run rings around by the more accomplished people that surround him. David Jones gives a good portrayal of this broken man that is especially affecting among the happiness and general celebration at the end.
Wilfred is the more familiar clown character, providing solid comedy as the idiotic, shuffling jailor helplessly in love with Phoebe. Robert Hazle is very good in this part and the best scene of the play is when Robert and David are playing off each other, with just the two of them on stage together.
The music is very good, with a very strong orchestra conducted by Chris Milton. The songs are lively and hummable, as well as technically accomplished. However I was sitting at the back and despite the OFS being a small theatre, a lot of words were spoken or sung too quickly, mumbled, drowned by the orchestra or just too quiet to hear. The singing was good but more projection and control was needed.
The set was minimalist, and I would suggest that this was a mistake. The costumes were sumptuous but the OFS can have a dreary stage, with its black walls, black drapes and floor. While this is good for some plays, for 19th century showpieces like G&S it felt wrong. There was no set to speak of either and this detracted from the performances. I couldn’t understand this as the addition of even a simple backdrop would have made all the difference.
With regards to the acting and direction, unfortunately the first act was somewhat static at times and a lot of the banter between the characters fell flat. This became noticeably better in the second act though. Hopefully the performances will get a lot livelier as the week goes on. The double acts between Phoebe and Wilfred especially improved and by the end became very energetic and funny.
However, in this show one of the central characters is a pitiful, tragic figure, a jester, Jack Point, desperate in his attempts to get a job and avoid an ugly mob, creepingly incompetent in love and run rings around by the more accomplished people that surround him. David Jones gives a good portrayal of this broken man that is especially affecting among the happiness and general celebration at the end.
Wilfred is the more familiar clown character, providing solid comedy as the idiotic, shuffling jailor helplessly in love with Phoebe. Robert Hazle is very good in this part and the best scene of the play is when Robert and David are playing off each other, with just the two of them on stage together.
The music is very good, with a very strong orchestra conducted by Chris Milton. The songs are lively and hummable, as well as technically accomplished. However I was sitting at the back and despite the OFS being a small theatre, a lot of words were spoken or sung too quickly, mumbled, drowned by the orchestra or just too quiet to hear. The singing was good but more projection and control was needed.
The set was minimalist, and I would suggest that this was a mistake. The costumes were sumptuous but the OFS can have a dreary stage, with its black walls, black drapes and floor. While this is good for some plays, for 19th century showpieces like G&S it felt wrong. There was no set to speak of either and this detracted from the performances. I couldn’t understand this as the addition of even a simple backdrop would have made all the difference.
With regards to the acting and direction, unfortunately the first act was somewhat static at times and a lot of the banter between the characters fell flat. This became noticeably better in the second act though. Hopefully the performances will get a lot livelier as the week goes on. The double acts between Phoebe and Wilfred especially improved and by the end became very energetic and funny.