Director: Peter Benedict
Music: Arthur Sullivan
Libretto: W.S. Gilbert
In his programme note for Ruddigore, director Peter Benedict marks his desire to “embrace the moments of genuine creepiness rather than just sending them up.” Mission successful for Benedict, then.
His production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s difficult piece is shot through with finely tuned comedy, some updated waspishly for today’s audience and some amplifying the original jibes at Victorian social mores. Alloyed to that there’s an underlying air of eeriness that settles over everything like a disturbed cobweb. A mixed bag musically dampens the fun promised by the acting, production and ideas but as a package it does fair justice to this under-recognised part of the G&S oeuvre.
The story of the “Bad Baron” of Ruddigore, an aristocrat whose family curse means he needs to commit one crime a day or perish in agony, is now set within a hotel, converted from the Baron’s ancestral home. Modern tourists arrive, but are drugged with tainted wine before reappearing as characters from long ago (the hotel theme doesn’t get concluded at the end, so it’s hard to tell if it’s being told in a flashback, or if they’re acting out the scenes on the disturbed whim of the landlady).
With long lost brothers, faked deaths, sailors, a corps of professional bridesmaids and ghostly interventions there’s a lot of coming and going before we get the traditional resolution to these stories – marriages and last minute plot twists to tie everything up.
Individually, we get some fine performances and singing. Joe Winder as Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd gives his character a fantastic comic meekness and backs it up with clear and cutting vocals. Kieran Parrott as his long-lost foster brother is all garrulous sailor and witty lyrics, and the three professional bridesmaids (Ellie Sayles, Eleanot Monaghan and Rosie Weston) are charming, even while masking their frustrations at not being elevated from bridesmaid to bride.
Lighter songs like the bridesmaids’ Fair is Rose and If Well His Suit Has Sped are a delight. The more heavy going ones do have their merits, but ensemble numbers are not this production’s strong suit. Painted Emblems of a Race, sung by Winter, Steve Watts as the ghost of a previous Baron, and the Chorus of Ancestors (smartly and creatively realised singing ghosts in picture frames) is the exception – delivering powerful and entertaining material. The famous patter song, the one song from Ruddigore most people will have heard of before, My Eyes Are Fully Open is well sung by Winter, Peter Benedict and Charli Baptie – coming across crisply, but also full of character.
It’s all supported by a small instrumental ensemble led by Musical Director and pianist Tom Noyes, with violinist Luca Kocsmárszky on stage throughout. Some unfortunately inconsistent playing in the wind and brass snagged the ear a few times and they’re overpowered by the stage’s vocals at times too.
Benedict has curated a selection of historical edits, cuts and additions to the piece to create his version. It’s well chosen, balanced between the comic and the worthy. Credit too must go to David Shields for the set and costume design that evokes the aimed-for unsettling vibe, and the addition of costumes for some performers dating back to the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company of the 1930s which adds an elegant touch.
The production is not going to set the world on fire with its technical proficiency, but the energy the performers bring to it, and the delights of the piece itself carry it through. It’s funny, enjoyable and just the right level of unsettling.
Runs until 25th March 2023
The Reviews Hub Score
Funny and enjoyable
