As we settled into our seats in the Al-Jaber Auditorium in Corpus Christi there were shanties to set the mood, whilst Questing Vole Productions prepared to share with us the preview of their first Edinburgh Fringe show. Yes, we were in for a nautical treat, a jolly (Roger) show, with all the pirate clichés you could imagine skilfully woven into a wryly amusing but daft story, with great tunes.
It turned out to be a highly enjoyable and entertaining production, most suitable for Edinburgh. The plot involves the useless Captain Trumpeter (Horn blower, get it?), his love for the Admiral’s obno daughter Lady Vanity, a “restoration Barbie”, the randy Admiral’s amorous pursuits with the cross-dressing first officer, and a crew of pirates who want to defeat the RN and find the lost Infanta of Spain (but why?).Trumpeter’s ship, HMS Surprise, is not a good ship, as the crew told us in no uncertain terms through a strong song with a “shit” punch line. The Admiral’s duet with the Pirate Queen later on was also excellent. The music throughout was very good and a definite strength (although it didn’t get a credit in the press release). I’d bet the cast can’t get some of the tunes out of their heads. The singing was enthusiastic and the words mostly clear, but the notes did drop a bit at times.
There were many good performances. I particularly liked Pirate King Freddy (Rory Morrison), who gave us an early Eddie Izzard with Gilbert and Sullivan leaks in his witty dialogue. The writing was another highlight of the show, again without credit in the release. The cast generally did it justice, but they could have enunciated more clearly to make sure that the good stuff in the script came across. Don Antonia (Hannah Walker), the Spanish villain, particularly needs to be clear, for she has a great part and a lot of the plot to convey, but was otherwise convincing. The anarchist leaflet-distributor Firebeard (Efi Gauthier) was endearing, too.
This was a preview, so there ought to be a bit of polishing up to come, and not just of the decks: if the words could be clearer for more impact, the audience given full benefit of the music by lifting the pitch, and the whole thing camped up even more, they’ll have a winner on their hands.