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AN AMATEUR performance group’s double bill will combine fun-filled novelty with very well-known operetta.
HMS Pinafore, by Gilbert and Sullivan, and The Zoo, by Sullivan and Rowe will be performed by Earley based group, Mostly G&S.
As their name suggests, the company predominantly performs light operas by the Victorian duo.
“We have our own style,” said musical director Jeff Trim.
“Our shows are hybrids; neither fully staged, nor purely concert-style with people reading from books.
“The casts learn all the music, and wear simple costumes to indicate character.
“And choreographed movement, particularly for the principals, adds excitement and interest.”
Mostly G&S performs two concerts annually at Woodley’s Allan Cornish Theatre, in April and November.
Their next show features unlikely stories of ridiculous comic love struggles.
The Zoo, a one act operetta, follows the complicated affairs of two couples.
One suitor, a nobleman, goes to woo a pretty kiosk girl at the zoo, and tries to impress her by buying and eating all the snacks.
The other beau, a chemist, panics when he believes he has poisoned his lover by accidentally mixing up her peppermint with her father’s medicine.
“I love it, it’s a really fun novelty piece,” said Mr Trim.
The piece vanished for nearly 100 years.
“The score was lost between 1875 and 1967,” he explained.
“Although it was understood to exist, it was unknown for a long time, until eventually it was discovered at an auction.
“First performed by an amateur group, the BBC then took it on, followed by D’Oyly Carte Opera Company in 1978.
“I fell in love with it.
“It’s only 40 minutes long, and it’s really fun.”
HMS Pinafore, set on board ship, is the story of a captain’s daughter Josephine, in love with a lowly sailor.
Her father insists on her marrying respectably, but the couple declare their love and plan to run away, until a plot twist reveals a shift of status, and fortunes.
“Pinafore is probably Gilbert and Sullivan’s best known and most popular operetta,” Said Mr Trim.
“Audiences will have a great mix in this show, with a score they know and love, along with something new and different.
“And the theatre is such a lovely venue.
“We’re so close to the audience, within touching distance, in fact.
“Every seat is a good seat.”
The event is on at The Allan Cornish Theatre, Woodley, from Thursday, November 2 to Saturday, November 4 at 7.30pm.
For information and to purchase tickets, visit: https://www.mostlygands.co.uk/upcoming-performances call: 07514 423 894 or email: mostlygandsboxoffice@gmail.com
