Patience

As much as I do love Gilbert and Sullivan, I have found the 1982-3 D'Oyly Carte productions rather hit-and-miss, with some greats like the Sorcerer, Cox and Box and Iolanthe and some disappointments like Pirates of Penzanze, Yeomen and HMS Pinafore. This performance of Patience is one of the better ones of the series, even if it pales to the Australia Opera performance which had more of a sense of atmosphere and the performers of roles like Grosvenor especially more aesthetically suited. It is all very colourful visually, with handsome costumes and sets, that is enhanced by some good video directing and picture quality(the productions of the series I named as disappointments didn't have these). The sound is not mind-blowing but again better than Pinafore or Penzanze, while the orchestral playing and conducting are outstanding, the choreography witty and the chorus well blended, animated and photogenic. The performances are generally fine with some good delivery of the dialogue, though as Grosvenor I did think John Fryatt was rather long-in-the-tooth for the part. However, Sandra Dugdale is a very funny and suitably delectable Patience, and Donald Adams with his star power and sense of comic timing manages to be even better than his Australia Opera counterpart. Derek Hammond-Stroud is very good as Bunthorne, and Anne Collins' Lady Jane as always is great value. Overall, while not my first choice I still enjoyed it. 8/10 Bethany Cox