Jack the Ripper Cast

We now have a cast for our next production of Jack the Ripper:

Marie Kelly - Alice Bridges
Lizzie Stride - Alison Gibbs 
Annie Chapman - Nicole Santlemann
Polly Ann Nichols - Stevie Gibbs
Cathy Eddowes - Gill Davidson 
Liza Pearl - Jo Bigg 
Martha Tabram - Louise Thonger 
Frances Coles - Justine McCreith

Druitt / Toynbee - Barny Shergold 
Chairman - Richard Fraser 
Sergeant - Peter Johnson 
Slop - Mike Costabile 
Lord Overcoat - Frank Banks 
Dan - Paul Kerswill  
Dinky - Kush Depp
Bluenose - Graham Gibbs

Congratulations to everyone who was successful after an evening of excellent auditions all round.

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Yeomen at the Proms and G&S in Welwyn

 Grossmith as the original Jack Point

There will be a performance of Yeomen of the Guard on Sunday 19th August as part of the BBC Proms. It's semi-staged and looks like a terrific cast of singers:

Leigh Melrose Lt Sir Richard Cholmondeley
Andrew Kennedy Colonel Fairfax
Lisa Milne Elsie Maynard
Victoria Simmonds Phoebe Meryll
Felicity Palmer Dame Carruthers
Mary Bevan Kate
Mark Richardson Sergeant Meryll
Tom Randle Leonard Meryll
Mark Stone Jack Point
Toby Stafford-Allen Wilfred Shadbolt

BBC Singers
BBC Concert Orchestra
Jane Glover conductor
Martin Duncan stage director

Full booking details are on the BBC Proms website.

There is also some local G&S coming soon to Welwyn:

This looks like a fun event for G&S fans. The World of Gilbert and Sullivan is on Saturday 23rd June, at St Mary's Church in Welwyn. This is a fundraiser for the Acorn Playgroup and Preschool and a chance to hear the Wandering Minstrels. If you haven't come across them before, there is more information here on their website.

'The Wandering Minstrels' is an highly accomplished group of six singers and a pianist who specialize in staging songs and scenes from the immortal Gilbert and Sullivan operas. Their concerts of Savoy classics, presented in period costume and performed in traditional style, are events to remember.'

Patience Review

Our thanks go to our Noda rep, Nova Horley, for this wonderful Review of our May Production of Patience. Well done everyone!

'A thoroughly entertaining production, the humour was to the fore, aided in no small amount by the adoption by Paula Fraser of a broad Brummie accent!

The story as always with G&S is slightly tenuous, but there were some lovely OTT character studies, and the ladies chorus singing beautifully, whilst the men’s chorus were strong and authoritative as befits the Dragoon Guards.

The set was nicely thought-out, very solid and well-used by the cast. There were no surprises with the lighting which was suitable for the show and sound was good.

Margaret Johnson had created exactly the right sound from her small band – they accompanied well, and the balance between singers and band was good, but they came to life in the overture which was lively, and extremely musical in quality.  I just feel it is a shame that the band had to be in the middle of the stage, with the MD encroaching on stage space – I wonder if there would be room to place the band slightly to the side, with the MD at the far side facing the middle, which would give an almost uninterrupted view of the stage – as with cast sitting, lying, kneeling on the stage the audience sometimes miss some of the action.

The placing of the ladies for the first number was a little suspect, we had ladies on the floor and on seats who were totally obscured by other ladies, the stage isn’t big, but there was plenty of room to place everyone so that they could all be seen.

Mostly the costumes were good, they looked fresh and the Dragoons all looked very smart.   I loved Bunthorne’s gold outfit and Grosvenor’s green number! The only two costumes that were slightly out of kilter were the Major’s grey velvet suit, which showed a large expanse of bare flesh, which could have been solved by wearing a white T-shirt tucked into his trousers under the white shirt, and the young Bunthorne’s green trousers were definitely in need of pulling up with a pair of braces, and his white socks/stockings were seriously creased – which spoiled the look of the ballet, as the young Patience’s costume was so pristine and charming.

Paula Fraser was a very funny and lively Patience, injecting the optimum fun into her musical numbers and lib.

Tim Sell again created a lovely OTT Bunthorne, the lusted after poet – his facial expressions were very good and added much to the performance.  He also moved well, and kept the bounciness of his character going throughout.

Richard Fraser as Grosvenor created a very saucy character, making use of his eyes to convey so much, a very telling portrayal.

The three officers of the Dragoons, Richard Dean as the Major, Graham Gibb as the Duke of Dunstable and Peter Davis as the Colonel, complemented each other well; although I heard some pitching problems at times.

Sue Wookey was a super Lady Jane – Sue always gives us a good portrayal, and this part suited her voice well, and gave her scope to be amusing as well; another person with a very expressive face.

I liked the three ladies, Angela, Ella and Saphir, played by Margaret Snape, Eve Rapley and Alice Bridges – they gave contrasting portrayals, and their voices blended well. Again they really brought out the humour.  I also liked the number with Patience and Angela, their voices sat well together, and were musically secure.

In the main the ladies wigs were excellent – I particularly liked those of Patience and Jane.

The ballet was nicely choreographed, and created a new dimension whilst not detracting from the song.  It was imaginative, and nicely danced, with one small comment to the dancers, look out for sickled feet in the lifts and jumps, however the arabesques were good from both dancers, and the lifts accomplished well.

I was pleased to see a full house, which is very unusual for these days, and everyone appeared to enjoy what was a fun and uplifting production, Alison Gibbs had done well, and injected her cast with enthusiasm which projected to the audience.

Thanks to PBGS for the hospitality and another good evening’s entertainment.'

Congratulations to everyone involved with our PBGS production of Patience, especially our Producer, Alison Gibbs and our MD, Margaret Johnson. A lovely end to on all that hard work (although it never felt like anything but fun!).

 

All photos © XMO4 PHOTOS 

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Jack the Ripper Notes and Audition Pieces

If you are thinking of auditioning for our Autumn Show, Jack the Ripper, we already have the libretto and music audition pieces available:

Libretto Auditions
Music Auditions

To help you get into your part we also Character Notes and Director's Notes, which will help you become familiar with the show and start you thinking about which parts might suit you.

Producer Paula Fraser will be talking about the show and the different characters at our first rehearsal on Tuesday 15th May. Auditions are on Tuesday 12 June from 7.45 at Streatley Village Hall. There is a map on our Contact Us page.

If you have never auditioned before, don't be shy, just give it a go. The show is a new experience for all of us and there are a lot of parts.

Just to remind you, the Society will be hiring some scores, but if you would like to have your own copy scores and libs are available to buy from Samuel French Ltd. They cost £17 for the score and £9.25 for the libretto.

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Merrie England at Wolverton

Wolverton G&S are presenting Merrie England on 26 May at St George's Church Wolverton. Click on the poster to enlarge it for full details! The music for Merrie England is wonderful and this is a rare chance to hear it. The Show has rousing chorus's and a story filled with intrigue and romance set in the court of Good Queen Bess:

'Merrie England is an English comic opera that concerns love and rivalries at the court of Queen Elizabeth I.

The Queen is jealous of Sir Walter Raleigh’s affection for Bessie Throckmorton, her lady in waiting, whilst Essex has his own romantic designs on the Queen. Throw in a bratish May Queen, a mad woman and her cat, a witch hunt, Robin Hood, a dragon, a deluded Shakespearian actor, several songs about fish, Herne the Hunter and morris dancing and you’re guarenteed some right royal Tudor mayhem.

Songs from the opera include "O Peaceful England", “God Bless Elizabeth” and "The Yeomen of England”.'

Paula Fraser is singing Bessie Throckmorton, and Louise Thonger and Graham Breeze will also be familiar faces to PBGS followers!

Patience 'flippin' fabulous'!

Our run of Gilbert and Sullivan's Patience ended last night and we all had such a fantastic time I think every one of us was sorry to say goodbye to our lovesick maidens and heavy dragoons!

It was wonderful to hear all our audiences laughing and enjoying themselves so much throughout the week - it was a real boost, especially as our Friday and Saturday nights sold out. The QMT Theatre Management made sterling efforts to put in extra seating to accommodate the queues! Thank you to everyone who made the trip to Hitchin to support us. We are really look forward to presenting our next Show to you in October 2012. Moving away temporarily from G&S we will be performing Jack the Ripper: The Musical, under the able direction of Paula Fraser who gave us the wonderful G&S Sketch Show last year.

There is already a lot of anticipation for this show, set in a Victorian Music Hall and on the streets of London. If you would like to be involved (especially men!!!) then please contact us. Rehearsals start on May 15th at Streatley Village Hall, Beds, and this would be a very good time to join PBGS. New non-performing members are also very welcome as there is always a lot of essential work to do behind the scenes. The people you see prancing about on the stage are only part of the effort that goes into every production!

If you are already missing your G&S, we have a fantastic triple bill of shorts coming up in Spring 2013 - Gilbert & Sullivan's Trial By Jury, Gilbert & Burnand's Cox and Box, and Sullivan & Stephenson's The Zoo. All equally funny and all in the spirit of classic G&S.

We look forward to seeing you all again at the Queen Mother Theatre!

Patience Ticket Update

We have been told that a few more seats can be put in for this Saturday's performance so if you can only come to see Patience on that night, ring the QMT Box Office on 07946 264886!

There are still plenty of seats for tonight and it would be lovely to see a full house.

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PBGS Patience opens tonight!

Final Patience rehearsal at Streatley

Well - tonight's the night! We've settled into the Queen Mother Theatre (our home from home for the week), managed to get through the Dress with no mishaps and can't wait to show all our efforts to an audience. There are still tickets available for all nights, although Saturday is nearly sold out. It would be lovely to fill the theatre so if you are still thinking about coming, be assured that you can park right in front of the QMT and you can see perfectly from all seats! Tickets are £12 with £10 concessions tonight and tomorrow.

Patience is showing from:

Wed 2nd - Sat 5th May

Queen Mother Theatre

Walsworth Road, Hitchin Herts SG4 9SP

Box Office: 01462 455166 or 07946 264886

Paula (Patience) and Tim (Bunthorne)

PBGS rehearse Patience

Graham Gibbs gives it his all as the Duke of Dunstable

Only a few days to go now before we open with Patience at the Queen Mother Theatre in Hichin! There are tickets left for all nights, and if you are in any doubt as to whether this is going to be a fantastic night out, then maybe these rehearsal photos will clinch it for you.

Tim Sell defies the laws of gravity as Bunthorne

No Bunthorne is complete without a Lily...

Paula Fraser (Patience) learns about love

Paula (Patience) and Margaret Snape (Angela) sing one of G&S's loveliest duets

Margaret (Angela), Graham (Duke), Peter Davis (Colonel), Richard Dean (Major) and Alice Bridges (Saphir) try and sort out their matrimonial arrangements...

Richard Fraser (Grosvenor) and Tim (Bunthorne) try to decide who is the fairest of them all

Tim (Bunthorne) is not amused by the results!

Patience opens on 2 May. Full booking details can be found here.

All photos © Sue Wookey

PBGS Patience opens 2nd May!

Our Spring Show, Gilbert & Sullivan's Patience, opens on May 2nd (tickets are selling fast so don’t delay booking!). With just under two weeks to go the Show is already on sparkling form and Alison Gibbs' production promises to deliver a hilarious night out both for those familiar with the show and for those that aren’t! It is mainly traditional but with some twists and - for G&S buffs - there is a chance to finally hear the second verse of the beautiful Patience-Angela duet ‘Long years ago…’ which Gilbert cut after the first few nights. For those that would like to read a synopsis of the show before seeing it, follow this link to the Gilbert and Sullivan Archive for all that and more.

When Patience, or ‘Bunthorne’s Bride’, opened at the Opéra Comique on 23rd April 1881 Oscar Wilde himself was in the stalls to watch their send up of all things Aesthetic. The Sporting Times reported ‘There with the sacred daffodil stood the exponent of uncut hair…Ajax-like, defying the gods!’

Clara Dow, C. H. Workman and Louie Rene in a 1907 production of Patience.

Patience was a huge success with a total of nine numbers demanding an encore on the opening night. According to Era “the curtain fell amidst hearty applause, and Mr. Gilbert and Mr. Sullivan were called to the footlights and congratulated most emphatically upon their success”. It was still running when D’Oyly Carte opened his new Savoy Theatre in October 1881 and was the first production performed in the theatre:

“The Theatre will be opened under my management on Monday next, October 10th, and I have the satisfaction to be able to announce that the opening piece will be Messrs. W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan’s Patience, which, produced at the Opéra Comique on April 23rd, is still running with a success beyond and precedent.” – R.D’Oyly Carte’s opening announcement.

Patience opening the new Savoy Theatre

Between the two theatres Patience ran for a total of 578 performances. Gilbert was worried that Aestheticism was a passing phase and Patience would pass with it, but it has proved enduringly funny and always will be while there is still a self-regarding artistic establishment to puncture and fads to be followed.

Booking details for our PBGS production of Patience are here, and we are looking forward to seeing you at The Queen Mother Theatre, although we can’t promise to encore nine numbers!

References:
The First Night Gilbert and Sullivan, Reginald Allen, Chappell
Gilbert and Sullivan and their World, Lesley Bayley, Thames and Hudson

Jack the Ripper Music Scores

Our Autumn Show will be Jack the Ripper the Musical. The Society will be hiring some scores, but if you would like to have your own copy in advance of rehearsals to get acquainted with the show (and the parts!) scores and libs are available to buy from Samuel French Ltd.

They cost £17 for the score and £9.25 for the libretto.

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Barn Dance Cancelled

This coming Saturday's PBGS Barn Dance has been cancelled. Sadly there just weren't enough tickets sold for what would have been a really fun evening. If you've already paid for tickets please contact PBGS for a full refund!

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Tickets now available for PBGS 'Patience'!

 The original Duke, Colonel and Major

Patience tickets are now available from PBGS members (either by directly contacting those you know or by ringing 07946 264886) or from the Queen Mother Theatre Box Office: 01462 455166 from 12.30-1.30pm Mondays to Saturdays and 8.00-9.30pm Mondays to Thursdays. You an also buy them on-line from the Theatre. If you would like a booking form follow this link to a printable PDF: booking form.

Tickets for the show are already selling well so don't dally! Regular supporters will know that our productions are always sung to a very high standard with outstanding soloists and chorus (our Act 1 finale 'O list while we...' really raises the roof!). We are also presenting an extremely funny production which will be enjoyed by everyone. When Gilbert and Sullivan wrote Patience they were making fun of the Aesthetic movement of the 1870s and 1880s, led by Oscar Wilde. Although this is a traditional production (but with some little twists!) it is easy to see that fads, fashions, and 'going with the crowd' never changes and Gilbert pokes fun at the absurdity of it all.

Oscar Wilde really set the Aesthetic movement on fire when he 'arrived from Oxford clutching his sacred lily, enthusing about blue and white china and the paintings of the Pre-Raphaelites and describing Henry Irving's legs as "distinctly precious" ' (the Annotated Gilbert and Sullivan, Penguin, 1984). All of this will be familiar to Patience fans where Bunthorne, the 'Aesthetic Sham', pretends to be a poet because he wants to be popular and lure the ladies. He extols the fact that he is 'such a judge of blue-and-white and other kinds of pottery' and then descends to bathos by putting himself up in a raffle. His bubble of popularity bursts when another Aesthetic poet turns up who is even worse at poetry than he is.

Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde proved to be a good sport in all of this. It increased his fame and, when Patience opened in the United States, the ever resourceful D'Oyly Carte (never one to miss a trick) sent Wilde over there on a lecture tour to be 'a sandwich board for Patience'. He lectured in every city that Patience opened in wearing a suit of 'black velvet and knee breeches'. As the Annotated Gilbert and Sullivan points out, American audiences on seeing him and then Bunthorne must have wondered just exactly who was imitating who!

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Latest Patience Rehearsal Schedule

We now have an updated Rehearsal Schedule which also has all the costume details that you need will for Patience. You'll find it on our Society Notices page.

As a taster, here are a few photos from our 1985 and 1991 PBGS Patience productions with some familiar faces to look out for. If anyone has any photos from our 2003 Production (even backstage) I would love to see them! Click on the images below for a better look:

1985

1991

Did you manage to spot Roy, Shirley, John E, founder June Pickard and Sue (me) with a dinner plate on my head?

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The Boy Friend in Ampthill

Jo B has sent a poster along for The Boy Friend which is being put on by the newly formed Ampthill Musical Theatre Society. From Jo:

This will be our first ever performance and it would be lovely to see as many people there as possible to encourage us onward and upward for more ventures... If you have as much fun watching as we have had rehearsing it, then you are in for a treat!!! Tickets are only £10 or £8 concessions and family tickets are £32 (2 adults and 2 concessions) but they are selling fast so get a move on if you want to come along.

The show is at Parkside Hall, Woburn Road, Ampthill 7.30pm on Saturday 14th April and Sunday 15th April 2012 and the box office number is 01525 405432.

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Family Guy does G&S again

Fans of the Family Guy cartoon will remember that the writers managed to put in a nod to Pirates last year with 'through the trees...'. Now here's a bit of silliness from The Sorcerer. found by Richard D. Enjoy!

The London Sillinannies

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Local shows: Godspell, Sorcerer and Orpheus

There are several local shows coming up between now and April, two from our fellow G&S friends at Wolverton, and one from Hitchin Thespians that will appeal to all operetta lovers:

Wolverton G&S: Godspell

Wolverton are presenting Godspell on Tue 3rd & Wed 4th April 2012 from 7.30pm, at St George's Church, Church Street, Wolverton, Milton Keynes, MK12 5EX. Box Office 01908 262250

Wolverton G&S: The Sorcerer/Cox and Box

Wolverton are presenting a modern take on The Sorcerer & Cox and Box on 27th - 31st March 2012, from 7.30pm at the Stantonbury Campus Theatre, Milton Keynes. Box Office 01908 262250.

Full details of both productions can be found on the Wolverton G&S Society website.

Hitchin Thespians: Orpheus in the Underworld

Hitchin Thespians are presenting Offenbach's comic operetta, Orpheus in the Underworld, from 21-24 March 2012 at the Gordon Craig Theatre, Stevenage. This production promises a touch of Panto and a new translation of the libretto:

...a fun-packed show with a new translation by Geoffrey Dunn and (of course) Offenbach's lilting tunes - including the timeless can-can.

Full details can be found on the Hitchin Thespians Website.

PBGS Barn Dance

Time to put all those steps you learned in Oklahoma into practise at the PBGS Barn Dance:

Saturday 14th April from 7.30pm

Pirton Village Hall, Pirton, Herts

LIVE BAND AND FOOD!

Tickets £10 (children £5)

Contact Shirley Hale 01234 381394 to book

This will be a fun event for all the family so be there or be square (very bad pun intended...).

Union Theatre all male Patience

Following last year's success with their all-male Iolanthe, Sasha Regan and the Union Theatre, Southark are presenting an all-male Patience:

After Pirates & Iolanthe, Union stages all-male Patience

Following its Whatsonstage.com award winning production of The Pirates of Penzance and last year's Iolanthe, the Union Theatre in Southwark is staging another all-male interpretation of a Gilbert and Sullivan classic, Patience.

The new production, which opens on 17 February (previews from 15 February), will be directed by Union artistic director Sasha Regan, with choreography by Drew McOnie, musical direction by Michael England and design by Kingsley Hall....

The production runs at the Union until 10th March. More details at the What's on Stage website.

I wonder if our 'love-sick maidens' will be able to out-cry theirs when we put our production on in May ; -).

©Whatsonstage.com
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Abbots Langley's Iolanthe at Watford

©ALGSS

Abbots Langley G&S will be presenting Iolanthe from the 23rd - 28th January at Watford Palace Theatre:

Our new production of Iolanthe sees the return of not one, but two of our previous directors, Julia Rufey (Yeomen of the Guard 2005) and Mike Monk (Iolanthe 2004 and Gondoliers 2007). Philip Joslin returns to wave the baton. A new departure for the society the various talents of the directorial team will be entirely focused to their strengths with a result that we hope will be both inovative and highly entertaining.

Tickets are available on 01923 225671 and there is a PDF of their booking form here with further details.
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