While we were attending another theatrical performance I noticed that the ENO were doing Pirates so this is a special (early) birthday treat.
Apparently it's a revival of Mike Leigh’s 2015 staging, which sounds promising, but I didn't find that he'd done very much with the material beyond standard G&S. In general, I suppose I am not really one for too much mucking about with classic works - Agatha Christie perhaps a case in point (even though almost anything is forgivable with her as she did so much of the mucking about herself!) - but some new takes on old themes are so wonderfully imaginative and "right" even when you think there is nothing more to be said on a subject, that I found this a bit disappointing.

Add to that, maybe I'm not so keen on this operetta in particular - I do find the Major General's famous ditty a bit less appealing than many seem to - the wit is in the words - and yet they are delivered so fast so that we can all be in awe of the linguistic dexterity of the performer, you can almost never take them in or even hear them properly.

[I did once see a terrific version of Pirates at the Rose in 2010 - complete genius - the arch humour worked particularly well with an all male cast].

Posted by Christina at 7:45 pm | Category: Art and Culture, Days Out | Permalink