gilbert and sullivan

[eddiemairswife]

They always lift my spirits.

When I was at school (many many years ago) the 5th and 6th years used to put on a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta at the end of the summer term. When my year got round to it it was La Perichole by Offenbach.

I still love G&S but haven't seen it performed for years.

I introduced Y6 to a bit of G&S. The staff had wondered what to do as the end of year production, and bemoaned that they couldn't do Bugsy Malone (again) because the copyright wouldn't let them make enough copies of the performance for all the children. So I said they needed something out of copyright, and mangled the Pirates to leave out Mabel and the lovey stuff, introduced some ghost pirates who threatened te "real" pirates for failing to get much treasure (really so they could sing from Ruddigore, but the teachers dropped that) and added Dr Who to sort the problems at the end. The children enjoyed it, with the policemens lot not being happy, and the pirates approaching with cat-like tread - bang! but I'm not sure if anything has fed through to the local societies.
And I suspect the Beeb may have something to say about the DR reversing the polarities and copyright.

If we're going to get a travesty of the Pirates, why not an all female one?

Offenbach has far, far better tunes! When I was a kid someone gave me an old cloth-bound set of G&S scores - I appreciated the wit of the libretti but I could never get into the music. (I can't actually read music but G&S music wasn't hard to find in the 80s and 90s, whether via snippets on Radio 2 or records in charity shops.)

I agree with a pp that it's a shame that amdram G&S seems to have a died out. End of a certain era of Englishness. I wonder if people still say 'D'Oyley Carte' as rhyming slang? I hope so, always made me smile. (This may be the problem with G&S, their humour isn't basic enough for me!)

There’s a group local to me who still perform G&S and only G&S, but it’s definitely done less now than when I grew up.

I was in a youth theatre in the early 1970s which only did G&S. But many of the modern musicals which are popular now had not been written then.

Like a PP says, professional companies do occasional productions. English National Opera will be doing Pirates over Christmas. Their production of Pinafore is shown on Sky Arts from time to time. Les Dennis is in it, and he’s great. He dances much better than he did on Strictly, even singing as he moves up and down a flight of stairs. I thought the whole production was wonderful, so funny and creatively directed, and I’ve been in at least 3 productions of it myself (with different groups) so I know it quite well.

The G&S festival in Buxton has just finished and the Cambridge University G&S society seems to do at least one production each year.

I agree, the songs are very singable.

I’m having a Cleopatra moment - see other thread. The last G&S operetta was written in 1896, which is 60 years before I was born. I am 68 now.

My all-girls school did that every year. Fond memories of auditioning for Tenth Policeman and being kindly told that my talents would be better used in the scene painting.

👍

I would be equally interested in going to an all female production , I just like to see a full production , preferably by a professional company .

I look out little list versions. Like - it’s a bit old but it has Trump

I can sing the Major General's song - and at the right tempo.

HTH.

I can do each verse of the Ruddigore patter song in one breath.

We should have a dweeb-off.

Iolanthe was on at the ENO recently, Dsis and I went as it's our favourite. We grew up listening to it as DM was part of an AmDram group who only did G&S.

My school 6th formers used to put it on after exams each year - we did The Mikado in our last year. Not sure if they're still doing it though, it would be a shame if not.

When DF was in a coma they asked if he had any favourite music to play, we asked for Gilbert & Sullivan, we were almost surprised that he didn't wake up to ask them to turn off the Gilbert O'Sullivan they put on for him 24 hours a day!

It looks like there are still some G&S groups about:
gsarchive.net/html/perf_grps/websites/gb.html

Otoh I very much enjoyed seeing the small Illyria touring company doing HMS Pinafore a few years ago - they each take multiple parts plus chorus regardless of sex so iirc there was a woman playing Dick Deadeye and a cheerfully mixed sex set of 'cousins and aunts'. I was hoping to see them do 'The Gondoliers' this year but I've missed the performance in our area

I’ve seen Illyria doing Pirates twice and it is very good .

Yes, Illyria are brilliant (we went to see Pinafore in an open air production somewhere in Cornwall).

They've just played the Pirates overture on Radio 3 and it's filled me with joy. It really is superb.

My favourite part is towards the end, when "How Beautifully Blue The Sky" is on the strings, then "Paradox" pipes up on the flute.

We used to have a "Best of G&S" cassette in the car when we were little, on rotation with Les Mis and Jackanory storybook tapes.

I also went to an all girls school that would do single-sex G&S before it became an artistic choice. Now they do more modern ones, but I have fond memories of learning the patter songs in music lessons and getting faster and faster and sitting down when you got a word wrong!

@Floralnomad I took my parents to Buxton last weekend to see the G&S (can't remember if it was Pirates of Penzance or HMS Pinafore) . They said it was fabulous!

Love G&S. my df used to sing the major general’s song at the top of his (superb) voice in the bathroom!

Also once attended the funeral of a friend who’d been a very jolly type, big G&S fan. Sat waiting in a beautiful little old church, but there was of course a very sombre atmosphere.
However the coffin was brought in to a riotous blast of something from Pirates of P, forget which one, and the atmosphere changed instantly - all smiles, as he’d have wished.

BTW, G&s fans, do check out ‘With Catlike tread’ flash mob by Redcliffe musical theatre on YouTube - it’s brilliant!

I was in my local G&S society all through my teens in the 70s (I wasn't remotely cool!). I loved it. My grandparents gave me a thick book of all the librettos for Christmas, and I loved that book. I also played the piano, so used to enjoy playing the accompaniments. Happy times!

I was heavily involved in my university G&S society for over 20 years, until it folded over Covid .
Only did a couple of shows on stage as I prefer the Dark Side, set building, lighting and sound production.
I'm not too fussed by the popular ones and prefer the more obscure, such as Trial By Jury, Utopia Ltd and The Sorcerer (for which we made an 8ft teapot). Oh, the rollicking, rollicking buns!

Oh the eggs and the ham and the strawberry jam?

Thank you @AugustDieSheMustTheAutumnWindsBlowChillyAndCold I've just booked tickets to ENO's Pirates for my birthday!