UCL Shows Review: Pirates of Penzance

THE UCLU MUSICAL THEATRE SOCIETY WARM THE COCKLES OF JULIETTE ROBERTS’S HEART WITH ITS PERFORMANCE OF PIRATES OF PENZANCE.

As the cold winter nights start to draw in, the UCLU Musical Theatre Society’s energetic and light-hearted Wednesday evening performance of Pirates of Penzance proved the perfect anecdote to help with midweek gloom.

Through the engaging and dynamic cast, alongside the great costumes and set display, the audience is transported to the Cornish coast to experience a very funny tale of love, confusion and above all, duty! The location of St Gabriel’s Church in Pimlico gives the play an authentic and warm feel in that the voices of the cast are able to shine without any distractions of complicated set changing or technology. In this same way, it is also the perfect acoustic setting for the talented live orchestra.

The whole cast were excellent in putting on a brilliant performance, but the true star of the show, as proven by the audience’s reaction, was the female lead, Mabel, played by Grace Roberts. Her beautiful voice truly gave the performance a highly polished quality.

Certainly, we cannot ignore the other fantastic leads such as the entertaining duo of the Pirate King (Sam Thomas) and Ruth (Amy Macpherson). A highlight is the performance of Paradox where they coax Frederic (Charlie Smith) into believing he was only five years old due to being born on a leap year. The gaggle of policemen brings further laughter in the second act with the musical number, When a felon’s not engaged in his employment. Finally, the true comedian of the night was terrific Major General played by Joe Dodd, especially with the, perhaps not intentional, clouds of talcum powder that appeared above his head every time he immersed into his character’s role, much to the audience’s amusement.

All in all, Pirates of Penzance is a highly entertaining operetta which certainly warms the cockles!

Pirates of Penzance is on at St Gabriel’s Church in Pimlico until 25th November.