"Patience" by Gilbert & Sullivan.

Christchurch Gilbert & Sullivan Society.

Iveshead School Theatre, Shepshed.

"Patience" or "Bunthorne's Bride" is an operetta by Gilbert & Sullivan and, in the same way that William Shakespeare often puts theatre goers off by your experience at school, Gilbert & Sullivan can often have the same effect with just that phrase operetta.

Gilbert & Sullivan are masters at writing great comedy songs for wonderful comic pieces of theatre and this is one of their best, and also one of their little performed pieces, which is just another reason for me wanting to see it again.

It's the story of Reginald Bunthorne, a poet, who would be the equivalent of your Justin Bieber or Harry Styles of today. He is followed by all of the women in the town who want him to be their one and only. Bunthorne though is in love with the milkmaid, Patience, who isn't in love with him.

Along comes another poet Archibald Grosvenor, another aesthetically pleasing young man, and becomes the flavour of the month and all the maidens follow him around which irks Bunthorne, knocking his massive ego. What irks Bunthorpe the most is that Archibald knew Patience when she was a younger girl, and still holds a flame for her!

A simple story of shallowness and fickleness where poets, painters and artistic designers were the pin up pop idols of the day.

Being a G&S Society, you just know that the vocals in these shows are going to be among the best, and they are, so I don't need to tell you how good these actors are with the vocals. it goes without saying that you're going to get some powerful and beautiful voices.

Patience, the lowly Milkmaid, is played by Rachel Fitzpatrick, who reprises her role from the 2012 production. One of the highlights of this operetta soundtrack is the gorgeous “Love is a Plaintive Song” in the second act. As I said earlier, Gilbert & Sullivan were masters at writing comedy, and Rachel gets to showcase, not only her vocals, but her lovely way with comedy as well.

Al Jordan plays Reginald Bunthorne, the man who has fallen for Patience, overlooking the twenty lovelorn maidens who wait for him with bated breath. What I love about characters like Bunthorpe is the flouncy campness, but also the masculinity of the character, which comes out through his vanity. Al brings all of those ingredients to the stage in one wonderfully camp but comic character.

Archibald Grosvenor is played by Richard Craggs. Grosvenor is more than a match for Bunthorpe in every way, except he is not a fan of having all of these women flocking around him, when all he wants is Patience. Grosvenor, while being aware that he has been blessed with the looks of an Adonis, is more of a one man woman, but he has to ring the changes, personality wise to get the woman he loves. How does he do that? Come along and see; and I love the change in Grosvenor's voice and accent. Not sure if that accent is Richard's real accent, but that little twist was a real surprise, character wise.

The chorus of Maidens consist of Brigitte Ainsworth, Alix Ashurst, Lynne Atkin, Mary Barber, Rachel Cousen, Jane dobson, Cheryl Hammersley, Christine Hibbard, Amy North, Sally Portsmouth, Sue Smith and Helen Tomlinson. All these maidens have heavenly voices that bring life to Gilbert & Sullivan's libretto.

The Ladies are made up of Helen Smith (Lady Cecilia), Valerie Hart (Lady Angela), Alison Matthews-Savage (Lady Saphir), Rosie Smith (Lady Ella), Harriet Myers (Lady Juliana) and Laura Gregory (Lady Jane). Once again, a chorus of heavenly voices.

John Cousen plays Mr Bunthorne's Solicitor, who gets knocked around quite a bit on stage.

Matthew Hammersley (Major Murgatroyd), Adrian Dobson (Duke of Dunstable) and Richard Tomlinson (Colonel Calverley) are the main men in charge of the Dragoon Guards, aka The Queen's Men. Apart from having big voices, and in the case of Adrian, a wonderful vibrato, they also get to show their comedic side as their characters decide to try and get "with it" by mimicking the clothes wore by Bunthorne and Grosvenor, with very comical effects.

The Officers of The Dragoon Guards are played by Paul Ainsworth, Edward Atkin, Ray Connelly, Joun Cousen, Richard Craggs, Brian Fletcher, Alan Hobson, Mike Jones, Roger Muggleton, Richard Perkins and Howard Pritchett, who counter the higher voices of the ladies with some lovely rich lower tones, and some rather excellent marching!

Directed by Cheryl Hammersley, assisted by Angela Kilpin. They have retained every bit of comedy in this classic operetta, and even enhanced some, from what I can remember from the last time I saw this particular piece of Gilbert & Sullivan, although that was seven years ago. It was tight and pacy and had the flow that you'd want from such a show.

Nicole Jordan is the Musical Director. Gilbert & Sullivan is not an easy sing, even if you sing it on a regular basis. They can be incredibly wordy and need to be delivered rhythmically, sometimes lovely and tenderly, and at times, especially with the patter songs that G&S are so well known for, and there's some of both rates of singing in "Patience".  You can hear the work that has been put in by the MD because you could hear every word sung, and that isn't always easy with the faster songs, because the words are almost an early equivalent of rap music. They need room to breathe and have to be delivered with rhythm and timing to get the full comedy affect.

The twelve strong orchestra is conducted by Carolyn Muggleton. What a delightful sound they make, and they made these songs sound the same way as if you were listening to the world famous Doyle Carte Orchestra; they had that specific sound and rich feel.

Choreographed by Amy North. If you've never seen anything by Gilbert & Sullivan, you won't know just how well timed the choreography for these operettas need to be. There are a lot of people on stage and the choreography has to absolutely spot on to get that desired effect. So, if you want to see what a well choreographed piece of Gilbert & Sullivan should look like, come on down to Shepshed and take a butchers at this show!

Lighting by Paul Boneham and Sound is by Paul Frost. The pair of Pauls did a great job; they didn't give me anything to criticise with their smooth operation of sound and light. The crackly mic packs can't be helped if it happens on stage, but they were soon sorted out and didn't impede on the overall sound quality.

The costumes were brilliant, especially the foppish designs for Bunthorpe and Grosvenor. the ladies all looked superb and the Guards, Colonel, Major and Duke's costumes were equally wonderful.

Expertly stage managed, and as you can see, there's a lot of people to manage, by Gordon Kilpin. Gordon also designed the set which looked great with the large gazebo at the back of the stage, adorned with foliage and covering the seating for both poets to pose on.

On Tuesday I was speaking to a lady at the theatre who said that she would go and see most theatre shows but could not bring herself to go and see opera. I think that she should take a risk and see something like this light opera because she is missing out on such a lot of fun, as well as some wonderful vocalists that we have in the East Midlands. I advised her of this production, so you never know......

"Patience" will be waiting for you to get those tickets right up until Saturday 2 November, so don't keep her waiting!

 "Guys 'n' Dolls" by Nottingham Operatic Society.

Nottingham Theatre Royal.

What's playin' at the Royal? I'll tell ya what's playin' at The Royal; and all this week! One of the greatest Noo Yoik based musicals of all time is back in Nottingham this week. 

"Guys 'n' Dolls" is the story of Nathan Detroit and his doll, Adelaide, and Sky Masterson with his newly discovered doll Sarah, who is in the process of saving souls. Will Sky's soul be one soul she can't save, or will Sky give up his gambling evil ways and succumb to the word of the Lord?

Based on the stories and characters written by Damon Runyon, the action starts in Runyonland where Nathan is looking for a place to hold his latest "crap game". The only way he can think of raising the funds to pay for a venue is to bet Sky $1000 that he can't take take a "doll" of Nathan's choice to Havana for dinner, and Nathan chooses Sarah Brown from the mission.

In the background Adelaide, the main dancer at The Hot Box, and Nathan's fiancée for the last 12 years, wants to get married and they plan to elope, but all does not go to plan while Nathan is still planning the latest "crap game".

Set in New York City in the mid 20th century, “Guys n Dolls” is packed with gangsters and gamblers, missionary dolls and showgirls. It has one of the most well recognised musical scores for a musical including “Luck Be A Lady”, “I’ve Never Been In Love Before”, “Sit Down You’re Rocking the Boat”, “ A Bushel & A Peck”, “If I Were A Bell”, "Take Back Your Mink" and of course the title song.

Nathan Detroit is played by Rob Harrison. Now, what I like about Rob's version of Detroit is that he's not quite as cocky as some versions of Detroit that I've seen over the years. The nervous stutter shows just a hint of fear and uncertainty, and I like that, and there's quite a bit of uncertainty in his life in this musical. Full of character and comedy and great vocals. and all with that unmistakable accent. Perfect casting.

Adelaide is played by Louise Grantham-Lang. For anyone who has seen this musical several times, like myself, you notice changes in the way a role is played, and again Louise plays Adelaide slightly different. Adelaide's voice is not as whiny or high pitched and that makes this version of this character even better. Louise is a wonderful singer and absolutely smashed singing in a New York accent, with a cold and at that pitch. There are several scenes that Louise is involved in, and completely steals with her comic characterisation and some fabulous choreography.

Sky Masterson is played by Bara Erhayiem, who gets the job of singing "Luck Be A Lady", one of my favourites from the Great American Songbook; an absolute classic. This is such a strong role and Bara is the man to play Sky. Bara is excellent at characterisation - remember "Chitty" last year? Dominant in the role of Sky and such strong and confident vocals, and so light on his feet; just watch him in the "Havana" section. That is a real strength with Nottingham Operatic Society, that they have so many fantastic male actors, singers and dancers.

Sarah Brown, or Sergeant Sarah Brown to give her full title, is played by Abby Wells. The vocals range from pure musical theatre to operatic. Abby also plays being drunk very well also in the Havana scene. It's also lovely to see that softening in the character as she slowly falls under the spell of Masterson. The casting for all of the roles is perfect, especially the four mains which were jam packed with chemistry and character.

Linda Croston plays General Matilda B Cartwright, a bit of a strict character, wanting to close the mission down but then lets her hair down before relenting on the closure, falling under the spell of Sky Masterson. Linda has a talent for playing characters like Cartwright, but you just know that she loves it because of that twinkle in her eyes.

Matthew Thomason is Harry The Horse, the gambler responsible for bringing Big Julie to the game. This is not Matthew's first time in this musical as I remember him playing Benny Southstreet in the Lace Market Theatre production a few years ago, which was also directed back then by Linda Croston.  Once more, brilliant character actor who also brings splashes of comedy to the role.

Charlie Evers plays Big Jule, bringing the menace to the musical. I hadn't realised just how tall Charlie is because in this role he towers over some of the other actors, no wonder they call him "Big Jule".

Owen Patten is Benny Southstreet. Benny is one of those characters you would not want to meet down a dark alley, unless you were throwing dice of course! It's so good to see Owen back on stage, I think I last saw him in "Hunchback" a couple of years ago for Nottingham Operatic. There are some beautiful arrangements of these songs, one of them being the title song from the musical which Owen is involved in.

Simon Theobold is Nicely Nicely Johnson, Simon gets to sing one of the biggest songs in this musical, and singing "Sit Down You're Rocking The Boat" is the song that you have to throw yourself fully into. He, and the rest of the cast do just that with incredible gusto. Also appreciate the rapid wordplay in the song "The Oldest Established". Simon's voice gets stronger every time I hear him, and you really feel the power when Simon sings.

Jarrod Makin is Rusty Charlie. I can remember the first time I saw Jarrod in a musical and have had the pleasure of seeing Jarrod's star rise. It's still on the rise and he always puts everything into his performances, whether that part be an ensemble role or a main character. I also noted tonight what a good dancer he is. I keep quoting the Havana scene but this is a biggie which also uses quite a few of the male and female actors in the dance scene, and here is where you notice these talents that maybe you haven't quite clocked previously.

The Crapshooters consist of Arthur Jones, Nick Smith, Thomas Gregory, Antony Watson, Charlie Evers, Dan Armstrong, Daniel Bogod, Jack Lawrence, Jonah Williams, Matthew Thomason, Nathan Curzon, Nick Smith, Jarrod Makin, Shaun Hanrahan, Richard Ives and Ollie Last. They also swell out the ensemble.

The Hot Box dancers are played by Kate Williams, Adele Lee, Kate Evers, Kate Taylor, Kate Williams, Ruth Greaves and Sarah Thompson. 

The Mission Band consisted of Amanda Dixon-Smith, David Hails, Emma Shute, Emme Gunn, Evie Midgley. Jack Lawrence, Joanne Lale, Laurel Jones, Louise Fiddes, Marcia Wood and Rosie Poesl.

The rest of the Ensemble are Christine Booth and Louise Johnson. 

Lieutenant Brannigan, one of those old style B Movie type detectives, just trying to get that break on putting the finger on all of the crap-shooters, is played by Ian Pottage. Another nice splash of comedy from Ian.

Joey Biltmore is the man who stands in the way of Detroit's latest game at his garage, and is voiced by Nathan Curzon. Only a minor role but one that demands comic timing.

Arvide Abernathy, is Sarah's Grandfather, and is played by Paul McPherson. His song "More I Cannot Wish You" really does get the hairs on your arm standing up. Fantastic Irish accent.

Angie The Ox is played by Ray McLeod, who also appears in the ensemble as well as being one of the Crapshooters.

Richard Ives plays a very convincing Drunkard, plus appears in the ensemble and as a Crapshooter.

Shaun Hanrahan is the Master of Ceremonies at the Hot Box Club, plus appears as part of the ensemble and a Crapshooter.

Directed by the award winning Chris Sims. This show has great pace, great comedy timing, great choreography and a really great feeling surrounding this show. The casting is spot on and I really don't think anyone could have done any better. All this makes it quite difficult to believe that this is Chris's first shot at directing musical theatre.

Choreography is by Justine Lee and boy has she done a great job on this show, especially in the Havana bar scene. That scene alone is like a scene from Strictly Come Dancing. This is a big show and the choreography is big. "Sit Down" is another BIG success in the choreography stakes, as is the little commented on "Runyonland" which has practically the whole cast involved, the "Luck Be A Lady" section which also highlights the talents of the male dancers. The Hot Box choreography for "A Bushel And A Peck" and "Take Back Your Mink" highlight the glamour brought about by the ladies. But there's also a lovely gentle choreographed piece for "If I Were A Bell".  I could comment on all of the songs and the choreography for them as all were so individual.

Musical Director is Rob Murray. I noticed a few different arrangements with some of the songs, which has only enhanced my enjoyment of this soundtrack. You can hear the work that has gone into working with this massive cast, not only with the solo numbers but the duets, triple and quartet harmonies, as well as the choral sections which replicated that old Hollywood sound that you heard in musicals. The layered vocals also gave a certain Phil Spector ish sound. 

It's also extra special to know that there's an orchestra in that pit, and you can tell the difference when there is. Many theatre groups now have to settle for recorded backing tracks which, while doing the job, just doesn't give the same feel. Live orchestras must be preserved, which is why it's also so important to support local theatre. This orchestra is a whopping 17 piece orchestra.

The set design and scenery is everything that you'd expect from a big group like Nottingham Operatic Society, and is provided by Scenic Projects, Lowestoft. The sliding sections made for smooth transitions for scene changes, which really kept the pace of the show going, making the changes almost cinematic.

Sound is by Michael Donoghue and was practically perfect; I won't even mention the couple of mic cues that were missed, because it's opening night and I don't care because nothing could mar this production. The quality of the sound was wonderful, as was the mix for the orchestra and stage.

Lighting for this show is also excellent, but unfortunately, I couldn't see in the programme to whom I need to credit my appreciation.

The costumes are hired in from Charades Theatrical Costume Hire in St Helens and look amazing. The suits for the men were just so slick, which is the word I could use for any area of this show. The female costumes were just as amazing, as were the whole of the Havana scene. I think you may just get the gist that I was a big fan of that particular section of this wonderful musical!

When you think that everyone on stage have day jobs, families and commitments outside the walls of a rehearsal room or stage, that they then put on a production like this, which is on a par with any professional touring show I've seen. The professionalism and incredible talent in every area shows that, given the right opportunities, every single person here could be doing this for a living instead of a glorious hobby.

This musical is an absolute classic and has the feel of family viewing on a Sunday afternoon on the box. It makes you feel warm and safe and you know that there is going to be a happy ending and everyone lives happily ever after, and that's exactly how I felt when I came out of the theatre. And that feeling can only be a joint venture between an already great show and an amazingly talented group of people, on and off stage.

And you most certainly get your money's worth as it lasts two hours and fifty minutes, including the interval, but every minute is packed full of talent. So, now you know what's playin' at the Royal, go out and get yourself a ticket.

"Guys 'n' Dolls" is at the Nottingham Theatre Royal until Saturday 2 November.

Photography by Marc Brenner.