As it's the Brighton Fringe, anything goes and Gilbert and Sullivan just went.
S***faced Showtime’s version of Pirates of Penzance would make absolutely no sense to anyone who didn’t already know the plot.
It’s not entirely clear if Ruth’s part was forgotten or cut, anymore than we knew if the actors, especially Frederick, were genuinely at sea or just playing games.
Squeezing two acts into an hour plus reducing the large original cast and chorus into half a dozen players was asking for trouble: adding random audience participation with a xylophone and penny whistle added to the chaos.
Much of Gilbert’s original wit was drowned, requiring the players to invent new stage business with beer, hats, shoes and chest hair for laughs.
They worked hard to put the patter across and coped rather well with Major Generals and orphans, frequently. Mabel had a beautiful voice.
Inept policemen and very loud- footed pirates had a great deal of fun, and even if the audience had no idea what they were doing or why, they laughed and cheered.
Would it encourage interest in a real production? I’d like to think so, but I don’t know, and I can’t be sure.
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