Coleg Gwent musical theatre students are getting all hands on deck to hoist the pirate flag for their production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance at the Dolman Theatre in Newport on 2 and 3 May.
Students are getting set to raise the curtain on the celebrated comic opera. The musical features a young man, Frederic, who is mistakenly apprenticed to a band of soft-hearted pirates until his twenty-first birthday when his nurse mishears Frederic’s father’s instructions for him to become apprenticed to a ship’s pilot.
Returning to land, Frederic meets and falls in love with a Major-General’s daughter Mabel. Discovering that his birthday falls on February 29 in a leap year, however, Frederic realises that in order to fulfil his duty to the pirates he will have to wait to be united with Mabel until he is well into his old age.
Musical theatre students based at Coleg Gwent’s Crosskeys Campus are gaining valuable performance skills and experience in the production, and the chance to perform to the local community at the Dolman Theatre in Newport.
“I’d never actually seen The Pirates of Penzance before, but it’s great to be learning something new,” said musical theatre student Brandon Gale, 17, who will be playing the part of Frederic.
“It’s a big show to put together with lots of strong vocal parts, so we’ve been working hard to do it justice. The story is very funny and has plenty of action, so we hope that lots of people will come along to support us and enjoy the performance.”
Playing Ruth, Frederic’s former nurse and pirates’ maid is student Lisa Derbyshire, 34. She said: “We’ve been working on this for four months after auditions in January, and I’ve loved every minute of it, it’s been amazing!
“Because it was written in the 1870’s, it was a challenge to get to grips with the language at first, but we soon got into the story and the fantastic humour. We hope that it’ll be a great success at the Dolman Theatre.”
The Pirates of Penzance will be performed on Wednesday 2 and Thursday 3 May at 7pm in The Dolman Theatre, Newport, with a Matinée performance on Thursday 3 May at 1.30pm.
Tickets cost £7 (concessions £5) and are available from Coleg Gwent’s Crosskeys Campus on 01495 333400 or from the Dolman Theatre on 01633 263670.
