The Amateur Dramatics Society, UoN’s resident crew of theatrically-inclined medics, rarely disappoint with their annual Medic’ Musical, and this year was no exception! Expect laughs, impressive singing, and unexpected acrobatics in their rendition of the Pirates of Penzance, on show at the Nottingham Arts Theatre until the 26th November.
With some amazing 21st century tweaks to the classic plot, the performance given by the Amateur Dramatics Society was truly charming, and I highly recommend you see it before it closes!
”Add in beautiful Mabel (Anna Stubbs), a whole host of sisters, and a rather entertaining General (Thomas Hatfield) and you have a somewhat chaotic, but artfully put together story’’
The performance follows the adventures of plucky young Frederic (Luke Jones), who rather amusingly ended up being apprenticed to the Pirate King (Angus Kitchin) by his nursemaid Ruth (Bethany Humphries) when he was a young boy. As he reaches his 21st birthday (or not, as the case may be!) his apprenticeship ends, and he is able to leave the crew he has grown up with and seek a life of his own.
Add in beautiful Mabel (Anna Stubbs), a whole host of sisters, and a rather entertaining General (Thomas Hatfield) (who really is the model of a modern Major General!), and you have a somewhat chaotic, but artfully put together story that has something to amuse all ages and tastes.
”The choreography, directing and characterisation were all first-class as well, and are also worth congratulations’’
Perhaps the most impressive thing about this production is that the entire cast and crew is made up of over 50 4th year medical students at UoN, from the cast, to the producer, to the stage manager. To say that they are in the middle of their degrees, the polish and finesse of their production is testament to their talent and dedication.
Luke Jones, Angus Kitchin, Anna Stubbs and Charlotte Hall should all be commended for their amazing voices; all talk at the interval was about the impressive high notes that Stubbs was able to reach. Thomas Hatfield also deserves a mention for mastering perhaps one of the most difficult and iconic songs in comic opera. The choreography, directing and characterisation were all first-class as well, and are also worth congratulations.
My only criticism of the production as a whole would perhaps be the length of some of the songs; many seemed to repeat themselves frequently and I got the impression they were only that long to bulk out the performance. I would have had no complaint if the production was ten minutes shorter, if the songs were a little less drawn-out.
The unusually long instrumental introduction to the performance was also a little strange, though that may just have been to give the cast more time to prepare for their opening night, so could be entirely understandable!
”If they weren’t four years into a medical degree I would tip some of the cast members for a career in the theatre’’
Overall, this performance was highly enjoyable, and was a great way to take a break from the stresses of University deadlines – something we’re all getting familiar with this time of year, I think!
It’s full of laughs and amusing one-liners, and contains some serious theatrical talent; if they weren’t four years into a medical degree I would tip some of the cast members for a career in the theatre. There were a couple of songs that I thought unnecessarily long, but this is after all an amateur production, and with that in mind it was a remarkable and impressive performance.
7/10 – Great show but room for improvement
Ellen Smithies
Image courtesy of Nottingham Arts Theatre
‘Pirates of Penzance’ is running at the Nottingham Arts Theatre until Saturday 26th of November. For more information and where to find tickets see here
For more reviews, follow Impact Arts on Facebook and Twitter
“The unusually long instrumental introduction” is the Overture- an essential part of Operatic performances including Gilbert and Sullivan, as well as many musicals, just so the reviewer knows for next time they see this kind of theatre. The song length and repetition are also features of the original work (in fact something that GnS fans really love), so if they had reduced them down any further they’d have risked spoiling the charm.
I look forward to seeing this production myself today 🙂