"Pirates Of Penzance Junior" by LEOS Youth Group.

Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton.

I've seen several shows that Long Eaton Operatic Society's Youth Group have staged but this is their first time of tackling a Gilbert & Sullivan operetta. Performing musical theatre songs and performing something like this is very different, and requires a very different way of singing. Some adults may struggle; not this group!

This classic Gilbert & Sullivan comedy boasts one of the most famous patter songs in musical theatre history, "I Am The Very Model Of A Modern Major General". The wit and whimsy of G & S's classic score is blended with a modern sensibility in "The Pirates Of Penzance Junior", a swashbuckling musical journey!

Set on the rocky coast of Cornwall, "Pirates". begins with a group of pirates who are celebrating the birthday of one of their own, Frederic, who has reached his 21st year. Finally, having served the full length of his required time with the pirates, he decides to strike off on his own and become an upstanding citizen – which may even mean bringing the pirates to justice. Thus, turns out to be a tricky prospect indeed, especially when Frederic's freedom is called into question, and all because of his birth date!

This show is a light, comic introduction to the work of Gilbert and Sullivan, and what I like about it is that is gives opportunities for the cast to sing as an ensemble or in small groups, as well as solo parts for those brave enough, and confident enough to tackle the might G&S lyrics and melodies. The singing, whether it be as an ensemble, a duet, trio or just solo was impeccable throughout.

There are not many productions, be it a youth group or adult, at local level or professional, that I decide by the end of Act One that I must give a standing ovation at the finale, but this was one. Everything about this production screamed for a standing ovation, and I made sure that I was first on my feet at the end; I didn't care if I was the only one - a few others joined me, but I was surprised that not all of the audience were on their feet.

Another thing that I did that I'm not known to do very often, is to stay behind and congratulate the cast in person, which I also did tonight.

The Pirate King was played by Findlay Parker, and for just a moment, you would have sworn that a slightly smaller Johnny Depp, in the role of Jack Sparrow, was on that stage. I've seen Findlay before, so I know what a brilliant young actor he is. In this role he has surpassed every other role he has done. He obviously understands the comedy of G&S because he delivers it so well with immaculate timing. His visual comedy is spot on and the rhythm of the words, accented in just the right places was a joy for any G&S fan to behold. His acting is wonderful and so is his singing. Just wait until this young man matures as I think LEOS have a star on their hands. But Findlay is not the only star. If this show was a night sky, then the actors are the constellations.

Frazer Brown plays Frederic. As with Findlay, he completely gets G&S comedy, you can tell by his delivery and physical acting. His singing is soulful and when his voice matures, LEOS will have a sweet soul singer within their midst, and as with many of these young actors, I envisage lead adult roles when they move up from the youth section of the group. there were a couple of times that his mic was not on, but fortunately Frazer has good projection and I could hear him despite the mic issue. He also showed what a capable dancer he is as well, delivering some great footwork.

Ruth is played the lovely Grace Collishaw. Another strong vocalist and with the trio of Grace, Frazer and Findlay they brought out every ounce of comedy from their roles, especially the ageist comments and image shaming, which really shouldn't be seen as comical, but back in the days of Gilbert & Sullivan, everything was game to be written comically about. These three were a complete joy to watch perform.

Samuel, who is one of The Pirate King's right-hand men, is played by Ivan Hager. Great confidence and can swash a buckle as good as any pirate.

Stevie Kirkham gets to play one of the most challenging roles vocally in Major General Stanley. Stanley gets the patter songs, and I was told prior to seeing the show that he was fairly new to LEOS Youth Group. His confidence shone from that stage right from his first entrance. I definitely had my listening ears on as I knew that he had to deliver that famous patter song. I listened and he did not miss a beat and did not miss a word, even with those stuck on mutton chops. His pronounced delivery scored many points for me, showing an understanding of the character and great maturity. I'm sure that this role will stay with Stevie for a long time and I know that when I see him on stage again, I'll always refer back to this performance in my mind. Stevie nailed this wonderful character in both acting and comedy as well as that immense song.

Playing Mabel is Evie Radmore, and what a clear and strong set of vocals she has. She looks great, she is a lovely actor and then when you hear her voice, you just know that she is going to be yet another young actor who you'll remember and look for in the future.

Kate, one of the daughters of Major General Stanley is played by Grace Agius, who brought out the romantic side of Kate really well.

Edith, another daughter, played by Roisin Parker is a bit of a rebel, as Edith is the one who suggests taking off their shoes and stockings to paddle; that is before they knew that men were in the vicinity.

Isabel, played by Holly Brooks is another of the daughters. And let me just state that when these and the female ensemble sing together, they sound absolutely heavenly and just how G&S had written the ladies' ensemble pieces to sound.

The Daughter Chorus consist of Holly Chambers, Lucy Coulson-Jones, Emily Dexter, Lucy Gordon, Niamh Lee, Maddison Woodland, Alice Whitaker, Jess Peel, Chloe Cresswell and Kate Whitaker.

The Police Chorus led by the Police Sergeant, played by Bella Syson - who by the way is another who has a wonderful set of vocals - consist of Kate Whitaker, Chloe Creswell, Jess Peel, Francesca Squires, Quillen Parker and Tom Lightbrown, This group reminded me of the *Keystone Cops with the way they moved and their wonderful facial expressions. * For those not as old as me, The Keystone Cops were from the days of black and white films from the Charlie Chaplin/Laurel & Hardy/Buster Keaton era and were the comedy police force. Brilliant comic acting from every single one of them tonight.

The Pirate Chorus consist of Bella Syson, Charlotte Case, Gracie Foster, Daisy Marsh, Nefeli Fryganioti, Elizabeth Rippin, Gabe Scott, Niamh Syson, Flori Tasker, Tom Lightbrown, Quillen Parker and Francesca Squires. As with all the choruses, keep an eye on them because, even though they are young men and women, they know the importance of not breaking character when the focus is not on them.

It's a large cast but every single one of them were excellent, no matter how big or small the role, I managed to notice them all and they not only brought great fun to their part, they brought a massive amount of professionalism to what they were doing. Gilbert & Sullivan is not easy for some adults to grasp and perform, but this cast looked as if they enjoyed every single moment on stage. the singing was spot on and they wrung every drop of comedy from this show, making this one of my favourite "junior" productions ever.

Directed and Choreographed by Siobhan Parker, who I am so pleased that I managed to tell her in person what an enjoyable evening I'd had. You could tell the amount of work that had gone into this show because the young actors reflected that work that had been put in. You don't get a show this good without investing a lot of time and energy into it. LEOS have set the bar for "junior" shows at a very high level here.

The choreography was not always easy but this lot made it look easy and natural, and once more exhibiting the amount of work put in to get out this standard of choreography.

Assistant Director is Claire Collishaw. I know Claire's work ethic when it comes to the theatre, and only the best is good enough. You get out what you put in and I got a heck of a lot of enjoyment and fun watching these incredibly talented young men and women.

Musical Director is Amelie Turner, and I was told that this was her debut for LEOS. What a baptism of fire but what we got from that baptism was superb heat. Like I said before, you can always tell the standard that goes into areas of a production by what the actors give out and the singing was some of the best junior voices I've heard. With this style of musical theatre, clipped and sharp delivery is important and not that easy to deliver from some young people but it looks like Amelie, who by the way has lovely hair as that's all we got to see of her from the back, sorry I digress. Amelie made sure that this style of singing and delivery was perfected by the cast, perfectly!

I've already mentioned the brilliant "I Am The Very Model Of A Modern Major General" but this show also includes G&S classics like "Poor Wandering One", "When The Foeman Bears His Steel (Tarantara), and the brilliantly rousing "With Cat Like Tread", which we were also treated to as an encore.

I've said that the cast is a large one so stage management will be like a military manoeuvre, and it did not surprise me to know that Katie Bird was in charge of this specific area.

Wonderful stage design, and again this came as no surprise that Roydon Charlesworth was the brains behind it. The cinematic back drop was perfect also.

Lighting Design by Dave Martin was perfect and Sound Design was by Dave Dallard and Jack Clark complemented the production.

I always have doubts about "junior" productions, especially when you've seen the full production of a musical, as sometimes they come across as not relevant for the younger actors - "Fame Jr" and "Chicago Jr" spring to mind - but this is absolutely perfect for a cast of this age. This show is perfect for a "junior" cast, and they all looked to have enjoyed doing this funny and energetic show. I hope other "junior" groups get to try something this different because it certainly paid off big style. No wonder the pirates' flag is called The Jolly Roger, who wouldn't be after seeing this show? Jolly that is.

"Pirates Of Penzance Junior" is at the Duchess Theatre in Long Eaton until Saturday 1 July.