H.M.S. Pinafore

As a dyed-in-the-wool G & S fan, I'm always happy to see any version of the operas, and will find merit in just about all (speaking as a participant in the "Starship Pinafore" so disliked by Hannah here!). From traditional to updated, bring them on! I hadn't come across this one until very recently, and am DELIGHTED that a friend introduced me to it.

It's camp, hugely energetic and a romp pretty much from start to finish, and as such, a very successful piece of undiluted entertainment. I couldn't help but feel sheer goodwill to it. It's not flawless, and there were things that irritated me - some of the tempos seemed pulled about for no good reason (especially in the "straighter" numbers), and some of the dialogue cuts and rewrites seemed intrusive and/or unnecessary - but at the same time, many of the changes were hilarious, and I certainly had no objection to the interpolation of some numbers from different G and S shows. The acting performances were in keeping with the overall over-the-top nature of the production, and only occasionally grated, and in general I loved the raunchier interpretations. Particular pleasure was derived from the three fabulous "sisters and cousins and aunts", whose costumes were a delight and whose energy and slickness in the dancing I could only admire.

Strict purists will hate it- D'Oyley Carte it's not. And yes, the synthesized accompaniment does not bear comparison with a full orchestra. And yes, some of the singing could be criticised technically. But this uber-Broadway, almost cartoonish rendition fitted those things, and this version of Pinafore stands in its own right as fabulously entertaining. Some, I'm sure, will imagine Gilbert and Sullivan turning in their graves. Others of us will wonder whether it's not in fact just how they might do it if they'd been writing for the musical theatre today.

The principles and Ensemble make this one of the truly memorable versions of HMS Pinafore I have ever seen. It is hilarious as a performance, and all credit for making this one version that I personally, as well as all my friends enjoy most.

It is the type of production that makes the audience appreciate G&S.

G&S wrote in order to poke humour at the government of the day and the people, sailing close to the wind with their humor.

How sad it is that when a show such as this, that has the opportunity to make people laugh almost all the way through is condemmed by a minority for not being a fully authentic version faithful to the exact letter of the original.

This version of Gilbert and Sullivan's operetta is a fabulously comedic and musical show! Essgee Entertainment performed H.M.S Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado as a trilogy starring Jon English.

The live show was performed throughout Australia and New Zealand in 1997, and whilst people from other countries will enjoy watching this, the recognizable Australian and New Zealand stars will entertain their home audiences on a higher level.

I saw all 3 shows live in Australia when I was seven years old, and have since become a die-hard fan of all GnS operas. I bought the videos shortly after, and having a permanent recording of this fantastic show means I can enjoy these musicals for a long time to come.

First of all I will admit that G&S is not my thing. I find the plots silly, many of the songs utterly boring and that the staging is often lacking in energy. I say this as a director myself, and having seen a particularly bad update of this show into the realms of star trek: the 'starship pinafore' no less.

However, in complete contrast to the other reviewer I found this production fresh, fun, self-consciously camp and at the end I found that I could actually like this G&S thing. I loved the camp choreography, the revolving set, the physical creepiness of Forsyth and its general lack of reverence. Above all it made the show accessible. It certainly wasn't without weak moments of course, some of the ad-libs were cringe-making, while there were times when the actors playing Josephine and Ralph just couldn't be understood - particularly in the upper realms of their registers. Similarly, I found some of the lighting fairly poor and uninspiring.

Nonetheless, I found this production engaging - good actors with good voices; characterisation that didn't make you want to knock sense into the ingénues is, in my eyes, a Good Thing. With a plot that is silly as anything it is clear that the interpretation was meant to reflect that silliness; meaning that when a moment of genuine emotion or sadness or regret was expressed, it was far more effective than a production, for example, that wanted to go heavily dramatic and serious.

I would recommend this show to someone who has never seen a G&S production as a nice segue into the other shows and interpretations. Although it was modernised and often tongue-in-cheek, I felt it never undermined the history of the show. Now I want to see the Mikado and Pirates of Penzance. And I never thought I'd say that.

I've rarely seen any kinds of theater-plays, operettas and the like, most because it doesn't really appeal to me. But I must say I truly enjoyed this one.

I became aware of this play (HMS Pinafore) while re-watching Star Trek: Insurrection, where an android goes crazy after been by a weapon and it's (his) captain tries to catch it (him). To do so, the captain distracts the android by singing "A British Tar" from HMS Pinafore, which the android has prepared a performance of. The song appealed to me, and I found a version on it on YouTube, from the Esgee production.

I have not seen any other performances of the play before or after, but I have done some research. This helped me notice, that there ARE minor differences between this version and the original, mostly in the music. And while some may call such changes "blasphemy" or close to it, it is my opinion that it have been integrated quite nice.

The actors for the different roles have been well-chosen, each giving a fine performance as their respective characters. Additionally, the different actors who perform the duets compliment each other perfectly; especially where the Captain and Little Buttercup sing "fair moon" and "things are seldom what they seem".

Other reviewers have stated that the Little Buttercup in this play, especially when played by Rima Te Wiata, is not the "plumb" type as she was supposed to be. Instead, she is rather slim and fit, and rather saucy/sexy at times. I'm especially impressed by how she manages to vary her tone of voice, from almost "squeaky" at times, to a more "normal" tone and at some points rather "deep"; and how she performs those changes quite nice. As I wrote above, she (Buttercup, that is) and the Captain really complement each other when performing "fair moon" and "things are seldom what they seem"; with Buttercup's varied tones of voice and the Captain's deep, dark voice, absolutely beautiful.

All in all a great performance, and well worth watching more than once.