The "Cyber Major General" scene was
part of Pirates 2000. It brought the house down at every single
performance! A work of sheer genius conceived (I think) by director
Ollie Nash, who was yet another mainstay of the Society like Messrs
Butterworth and Charlton...
We all had quite a time putting it
together - the rehearsals were in Alcuin dining hall, long since
demolished along with much of "old" Alcuin, and I recall having to
accompany on a somewhat decrepit keyboard which had to be fetched from
Langwith. There are all sorts of other abiding memories: my friend
Chris Bluemel (the only other Music student to be involved in the
Society back then) played percussion in the orchestra, despite being
primarily a string player, and was forced to raid the Music department
kitchen for utensils to hit the instruments with! I also remember Dave
York (as the Pirate King) streaming with cold throughout most of show
week, being reduced to a loud whisper in all the dialogue and most of
the songs. He recovered in time for the filmed show on the last night,
so his performance on the video is much stronger than it was earlier in
the week!
The University of York Gilbert and Sullivan Society © 2009