HELLO AGAIN SAILORS
This is one of ENO’s beloved triumphs, the one which got some of us through the latter Covid years in frivolous merriment. For back in gloryIn 2021 I saw Cal Mc Crystal’s larky, spectacular production twice, with Les Dennis bravely – and triumphantly – taking the singing role as the First Lord. This time the celebrity bolt-on is Mel Giedroyc, with only one sung line but a lot of sub-panto larking around , both as the cabin boy and as a rogue amid the sisters-and-the-cousins-and-the aunts. But the merriment of the production is the same, under the exuberant conduction of Matthew Kofi Waldren. Moreover, Henna Mun, from the lastest crop of ENO Harewood Artists, is a lovely Josephine: fine voice, naturally, but also a good physical wit. And the booming Neal Davis is the FIrst Lord, with a bass bounce to savour afterwards.
And , to my particular delight , once again John Savournin is Captain Corcoran: he capers on like a nimble blue spider and leads his horpipe tap with an irresistible air of mournful responsibility. Thomas Atkins is an irresisble Ralph Rackstraw too, especially when caught escaping and forced to listen to the tremendous “To be an Englishman!” chorus in a huge crinolin with his hair in bunches, while a giant Union flag falls from overhead and a figure of Boris Johnson flies past on a zip-wire.
Indeed there are all McCrystal’s borderline- silly physical jokes – which do get slightly frowned upon by G and S purists like my companion, though she got over it when Savournin did his hornpipe. There’s the magnificent revolving ship appearing to confuse the captain and cause a third unexpected chorus; there’s Buttercup falling over the rail, Dick Deadeye interfering with the love duet by shooting down an albatross in the background, and various other reasons to keep a sharp eye on whatever the tars might be up to above and behind the more romantic scenes. McCrystal has done wonders for us new-converts to Gilbert & Sullivan, just as Sasha Regan did , in a smaller-scale but equally disruptive spirit witht the chaps. This, by the way, is a link to my carefully versified moment of truth about the genre, back in 2014..
But meanwhile, off to ENO for a Christmas treat…
www.londoncoliseum.org to 7 ‘feb
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