No 2 -- April 1975 Edited by Michael Walters
As successful productions of "Pirates" and "Iolanthe" over the past two years had shown, and as a very well received week of performances of the former bore out at Minack in Cornwall last summer, [Minack Theatre is an openair theatre carved from the cliff face near Land's End. Ed.]. C.U.G.S.normally boasts one of the highest performing standards of any Cambridge dramatic Society. The audience for the last night of "Patience" on March 1st, therefore came expecting great things and were not disappointed. Perhaps some had been expecting the new producer, Taylor Downing, to adopt a modern flowerpower approach; instead he gave us an entirely gimmick free production, letting Gilbert speak for himself. The result was constant hilarity from a full house, and great warmth and friendliness radiating in both directions across the footlights, The new musical director, Stephen Harrison, proved by his fast tempt a great awareness of Sullivan's life and gaiety, but did not attempt to bring out his musical jokes as the previous conductors had done. Jonathan Townsend was a rather cautious Colonel, perhaps not entirely recovered from his laryngitis earlier in the week, and thus failed to match the high standards of his colleagues Anthony Little (Major) and John Hall (Duke), who were vocally and dramatically more convincing. It was a pity however that in the aesthetic Trio the Major was given so much "funny" business, as if to justify the part. John Hall was a delight, despite some harshness at the top of the range. His approach was in the Ralph Mason style, but fortunately he succeeded where that gentleman did not. Bunthorne, the experts tell us, is a compound of Whistler, Swinburne and Oscar Wilde; Jeremy Thomas gave us an hilarious mixture of Salvador Dali, Noel Coward & Kenneth Williams; precise, clipped diction, every word spat out in an acid waspish tone, with exaggerated facial reactions that just refrained from being "camp". For the "trim rigidity of limb" he appeared to have studied, not a marionette but a ballet dancer's book of exercises. Garth Morrell as Grosvenor was less successful, mooning through the piece in an idyllic haze, delivering all his lines in a calm, soft, rapturous sigh that formed the best possible contrast to Bunthorne but became intensely annoying after a while. He was also hampered by a curious maroon flannel costume that suggested a rugby substitute warming up off the pitch. Frances KellettBowman, Linda Garnham and Valerie Taylor as Angela, Saphir and Ella played these uninteresting parts in a suitably uninteresting way. Lack of characterization was also a regrettable characteristic of the Chorus, who were a welloiled machine rather than a set of individuals but this was a small price to pay for actually hearing all the words. Felicity Norman as Patience gave me a very good idea of what Winifred Lawson must have been like on stage. She had the same apparent fear of vocal projection and uncertainty on top but more than made up for it by her acting ability. To look young and innocent as she did was no small advantage, and "Love is a plaintive Song" made a magnificent contrast to the hilarity of the other items. Sarah Houghton as Lady Jane was without doubt the best of the cast, despite being young, slim and attractive. Vocally she was the most assured and the easiest to listen to: a soft gentle mezzo with perfect command of phrasing and tone. Perhaps some of the more matronly lines ought to have been cut but she was certainly a more thoughtful and rather sadder girl than the rest, with a quiet, resigned firmness just below the surface. The overwhelming impression of the production was of careful thought leading to a fresh presentation by a cast whose conviction was matched only by their ability to radiate enjoyment and lift the audience. With G & S like this we can take fresh guard for our second century with defiant confidence. SELWYN TILLETT.
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