‘The Pirates of Penzance’ is undoubtedly one of the most popular of all the Gilbert and Sullivan repertoires, and this week, The Daneside Theatre welcomes the Pirates to Congleton, possibly sailing via the River Dane? Performed by Congleton Amateur Youth Theatre (CAYT) this is Essgees rather unique Australian version of the show. First performed in 1994 and having gone global this was certainly a brighter, livelier version from the offset.
The story is so well known by many but if you have never seen it, it relays the story of the very innocent Frederick (Alex Wilson) who is taught his Pirate apprentice skills by The Pirate King (William Vickers). It tells the tale of his time with the Pirates and Ruth (Ellie Shirley) and falling in love with Mabel (Lucy Picken).
CYAT are a varied bunch for sure and they collectively clearly all love performing. There is without doubt some unique talent on stage. William Vickers as The Pirate King, for one, must be applauded for what can only be described as commanding the stage whenever he was on it. He was in many ways the ideal Pirate King. Although portraying a loud, garish, self-obsessed Pirate King with impressive swinging rope skills, it was the small interactions he had when he was not centre stage, the nod and the winks, the interaction with the audience and orchestra, that in some ways showed his natural talent more so.
The daughter’s ensemble pieces were very pleasant to watch. With good vocal range and associated choreography, they performed to a high standard and demonstrated some nice characterisation of individual parts. With too many great performances to mention, Tabitha Alcock-Bailey’s performance as ‘Edith’ must get a special mention and would seem to have a future on stage for sure. The version of ‘Climbing over Rocky Mountain’ alongside Isobel (Maddie Lusby), Kate (Eady-Beau Williams) and Elizabeth (Alice Maddocks) was well executed.
Ellie Shirley as Ruth was standout. With stage presence in abundance, vocally on point with comedic timing, she was a pleasure to watch. As this is her final performance with CAYT she certainly completed her time with this company on a high and it is pleasing she will be continuing her love of performing arts.
The major general (Charlie House) although a little hard to hear at times had good comedic timing and good stage presence. The audience certainly seemed to find him hilarious to watch. The well-known, ‘I am the very Model’ is a challenging piece to sing and he carried this off well.
Lights were occasionally very bright and did at times affect the clarity of view from the audience. The projections that formed the backdrop certainly framed the stage and provided quality from a visual perspective. The orchestra were consistent throughout and their interaction with the Pirate King in exchanging a baton for a sword was amusing to watch.
It would also be remiss not to mention the fabulous front of house team at The Daneside – Nicholas and Sue could not been more accommodating and welcoming.
All in all, The Congleton Amateur Youth Theatre Company put on a very entertaining performance. If you want to brighten a November evening and see some talented youngsters do check out the Pirates in Congleton as they will be sailing on in a week! Move quickly, tickets on sale from www.ticketsource.co.uk/cayt and the production is on until Saturday 20th November.
Reviewer: Angela Kelly
Reviewed: 17th November 2021
North West End UK Rating: ★★★★