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The Pirates of Penzance and Trial by Jury, 1982
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Chris Boot on The Pirates of Penzance
Following the enormous success of Iolanthe the previous year, we had some actual money in the account (if memory serves over £500). However, the new committee had picked up the habits of the old and, even remembering that this would be the society's 10th production, decided to cut corners wherever possible.
The producer, Sean Hale (Lord Chancellor in Iolanthe) designed a beautiful set, which was rapidly constructed in the void of the library. Even the sentry box from Iolanthe was transformed into a tomb for Act II.
Up until this point, the largest expenditure had always been on the hire of costumes. For a break with tradition, it was decided that we would make as many as possible. The police costumes and some of the principals were hired, but all the pirates made their own costumes (even the Pirate King). Cathy Keeffe (nee Priest) was wardrobe mistress and purchased large amounts of material and the female chorus were set busy sewing. As far as I'm aware, this material reappeared throughout the next five years: if you see any lime green, lemon yellow, fuschia pink or sky-blue costumes, its more than likely this is where it originated!!
Once again, the female chorus numbered more than thirty, with the unfortunate effect that their introductory song ("Skipping Over Rock Mountain") was almost over before all of Major General Stanley's daughters were on stage. Having to split the male chorus caused a few problems, as everyone wanted to be a policeman, so they could sing that song - unfortunately only six of us were given the chance. When we had to hide from the pirates, it was thought to be a good idea to hide at the back of the stage behind various twigs and branches which we could then wave during the Major-General's final song. Perhaps regrettably, one of the branches that was waved nearly every night was a bare Christmas tree: well it was dark on the stage when we were grabbing them!
A brief attack of 'flu caused a few problems for the principals, and at times, the final performance nearly knocked the audience out with the fumes of Vicks Vaporub and Lemsip, but we got through it successfully. And yes, the snickersnee appeared again during Act II - just for the Pirate King to wield at the Major-General.
Chris Boot on Trial By Jury
As part of the York Music Festival we performed a semi-staged version of Trial in the Guildhall in York. This was very successful, and led us to be invited several years following.
