Hello and welcome to my second installment of the Pirate blog.

We’re roughly half way through the rehearsal schedule and I have to say I’m really pleased with how everything is going. Thanks to the hard work of the cast and the team we’re still on schedule and although we’ve been moving at a rapid pace, the cast are doing their homework and whats been set has been retained and is looking great. This week saw us set the ‘Policeman’s Lot’ and ‘Climbing Over Rocky Mountains’ numbers, whilst moving onto singing through Cat Like Tread and the adjoining music with the men.

We only have a few bits left to learn and the whole show will have been blocked and sung through. It was always my aim to try and get everything set and learnt early and everyone has risen to the challenge. This means we’ll have lots of rehearsal time to run the show, polishing and adding extra little bits all the while.

On a personal note this show is proving an enjoyable challenge for me, the nature of the show means that I’ve had to do rather more choreography than I would normally, resulting in me locking myself in a room and fighting or dancing with myself. Thankfully when it all gets too much for me Fay’s on hand to make up some proper dancing.

Our version will be unlike many other ‘Pirates’ before it. Myself, Fay and Erika decided from the onset that we didn’t want this show to have a stuffy or concert feel to it. So often you see productions of the show where all the emphasis is on the singing and little consideration given to anything else. In our eyes this leaves a rather boring show. We want ours to be a real triple threat.

As the show is out of copyright it’s rather liberating as it means we can really put our spin on things. We’ve taken a much more MT approach to our version, we’ll let you be the judge, but we believe what we have is a much funnier, more entertaining version of the show with a modern feel. The show has so much scope for humour and we’re doing all we can to pack our version full of it, we’ve come up with some great characters and it’s great to see the cast develop these each week in rehearsals.

The next few weeks see us set ‘cat like tread’ and learn the finale section of act 2 then tie up the loose ends and duets which will mean we can start running the show.

I do hope you come to see the show, forget any preconceptions you may have of it, what we’re offering is a fresh fun take on a classic.

Pirates of Penzance runs from 7th-10th June and tickets are available to buy through the Millfield box office here:

Greetings dear readers of the Pirates Blog!

My name is David Bowman and there are those that call me the Very Model of a Modern Major General!

Usually at rehearsals, and when the script dictates, for that is the part I am to portray, and dare I say, to embody in our little show.

Admittedly there are not many occasions for them to do this.

But when they do, they do so in unison, in song and in some rather lovely harmonies!

This week has seen two more rehearsals full to the brim with that authentic SMP blend of studious attention to detail, and glorious hilarity!

On Monday the gentlemen of the cast, along with the irrepressible Jo Cooper who plays our Ruth, where put through their paces.

Our esteemed Director, Mr Warren McWilliams, guided us through a review of all the scenes so far covered.

I’m pleased to say he certainly bought that particular genius of his to bear cranking up the levels of police buffoonery and piratical hijinks!

The evening concluded in marvellous fashion with Jack McGinn, our dashing Frederick, and Jo Cooper delivering a truly rousing rendition of ‘Oh False One’.

Special mention here should go to our pianist Alex Cobavie, for altheticism, vigor and enthusiasm her playing brings to all of our rehearsals, and this accompaniment in particular!

Wednesday we repaired to Cannon House, where there’s always costume lurking in the attic, song wafting through the lounge and tea brewing in the kitchen!

A recap of the songs was led by our Musical Director – the incomparable Erika Gundesen.  In once more guiding us through the trickiest of Sullivan’s harmonic wrangling with tenacity, perseverance and consummate musicianship, but also with irrepressible good humour!

Indeed a splendid evening was had by all and we all left looking forward to the day that all this can be unveiled before you, our esteemed audience!

In conclusion, get your tickets, see this show, it’s going to be absolutely jolly marvellous!

Pirates of Penzance runs from 7th-10th June and tickets are available to buy through the Millfield box office here:

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr me hearties!

Greetings and welcome to the blog.  I’m Luke and I’m delighted to be bringing this week’s edition to you.  I’m so pleased we are doing this show, it’s always been one of my favourites as it was pretty much the very first musical I was ever part of waaaay back when I was but a young whipper-snapper.  Well the years have rolled by, but I still love Pirates of Penzance as much, if not more, than I ever did.

The music is fantastic – real proper singing that tests us to our limits and pushes us to be better which is always great.  These days, I like the show even more because you get just how silly and funny it is.  So – great show, great music, lots of funny stuff – and that’s before you factor in Mr Warren McWilliams adding his considerable talents to add more mayhem and hilarity, the fabulous Fay Kemal bringing out our best with some brilliant routines and the wondrous patience of Erika Gundesen who is slowly but surely getting us through the fabulously complex music.

So on Monday we were a rollicking band of Pirates as we set the opening to the show, much laughter and energy was brought to proceedings as we cavorted about, swilling from flagons of sherry and launching Jack McGinn (who plays Frederick) around.  By the end, we’d all worked up a good sweat and it looks like we should be opening the show with a bang and starting like we mean to go on!

Wednesday was a singing day, Erika (along with our fabulous pianist Alex) worked with us on ‘When the Foeman Bares His Steel’ which is in Act 2 and where I’ll be playing the Sergeant which is a really fun part.  This was one of 2 songs I sort of take the lead in, so a great rehearsal for me in getting this under my belt.  We also did some more work on some of the other numbers and we really started to crack the end of the Act 1 finale.  This is a massive 10 minute piece of music in multiple harmonies and is a bit of a nightmare when you first look at it.  However, once we crack it – it will sound A. MAZ. ING!  So very excitingly at the end of Wednesday we ran through the Act 1 finale from beginning to end, up to speed and you could really hear that the chaps were 95% there (no disrespect to the ladies, they were downstairs setting some dancing with Miss Fay – so this was a singing rehearsal just for the gents!).

We’ve been ploughing through the show at a good pace, and I think we’re due to go back for a few recap rehearsals which will be great.  Once we get everything together, bring the humour out, start belting out those harmonies and adding in all the fab bits and pieces being added on top – I’m confident this is going to be one of our best ever shows!

So what are you waiting for, shiver those timbers, splice the mainbrace and get booking your tickets now! Else we shall have to confine ye to Davy Jones’ locker!

Pirates of Penzance runs from 7th-10th June and tickets are available to buy through the Millfield box office here:

Aye, me hearties, and welcome to this week’s blog, by me, Archie (or “Roger the Cabin Boy” if you must)! And this week was a really big one too!

On Wednesday, we (Me, Jo and the rest) did Pour, oh pour and (I live or die a) Pirate King, which were two very easy songs and I loved them, as I’m sure everyone else did too.

Meanwhile, the other girls (the lovely daughters) were very busy trying to snatch a hoop off someone’s wrist whilst the other person was spinning it (I hope they were up to more than just that)!

We also had a visit from two talented people Ewan and Esub who are putting our flyer together for us, I can’t wait to see the finished thing.

Anyway, that was Wednesday, and (here comes the embarrassing bit) I… wasn’t there on Monday. But… Warren told me that I could go through other rehearsals, so here comes one from last Wed (the one before the one I was just talking about)… Act 1 finale!

Now, I have to say, as a professional, that the song was extremely difficult and complicated to learn, with… a many good different topics in it. But, my amateur dramatics (and true self, if you ask me!) self-screams out loud that that song was simply “a mess, like Gilbert and Sullivan had made this song for comic relief, deciding that the good thing to do would be to get all different genres of music, and mix them together like a lumpy cake mixture- the lumps in the cake mixture being all the places where the genres clashed-and just stick it into the otherwise magnificent play.”

I mean, come ON, one minute the pirates (me included) are getting all emotional, sobbing our hearts out over David Bowman’s being an orphan, and the next minute, we’re “hailing poetry”? In my experience, there is NO SUCH THING as “Hail Poetry!”

But we got through that sticky mess, and I’m sure we’ll be all the wiser for other songs like this (if there are more abominations like this) because of all the coaching that our amazing Erika Gundesen and magical Alex Cobavie (she is BOUND to become like Tchaikovsky-her skills are beyond bounds) have given us so far, and will all the way to the end of the play.

Also, I would like to say that Jamie Somerville, you are an OUTSTANDING actor and a brilliant singer-any play that you are in is instantly something I would want to watch, because the moment you start performing, regardless of whether you are standing centre stage hands-on-hips or backstage right sweeping dust out of a corner (though I doubt that if anyone sees your talent they would give you a role like the latter), everyone’s attention would be focused on you, because of the way you play a role in a comedic and amazing way, whilst still doing what the director wants you to do.

Please don’t be sad if I haven’t mentioned all of you in this; that doesn’t mean I don’t think you’re just as good as everyone else in our merry little group, it’s just I haven’t been working directly alongside you and it would be unfair to you for me to judge you.

Anyway, I hope you’ve managed to get through this blog without falling asleep (or yawning either-I know I’m not the most exciting person in the universe), and if you have, congratulations!

Here’s to many more Mondays and Wednesdays to come, Archie is out!

Pirates of Penzance runs from 7th-10th June and tickets are available to buy through the Millfield box office here:

Pirates of Penzance runs from 7th-10th June and tickets are available to buy through the Millfield box office here:

Hi all

My name is Jo and I will be playing Ruth in Pirates of Penzance. This will be my second performance with SMP, my first show being Beauty and the Beast in 2013, although I have helped out behind the scenes in Our House in 2013 and Urinetown in 2016. I can’t wait to get my teeth into this show as Gilbert & Sullivan operettas are something I love and have been dying to perform in one. I was super surprised and elated to get the role of Ruth.

Last Monday saw us staging some of the classic songs from Act 1 (with some of the best directing known to man according to our Director, Warren McWilliams), such as Modern Major General in which Dave Bowman (playing the General) has to really get his face in gear for those super fast lyrics! Staging is always done at the Intimate theatre which has been in existence now since 1937 and reportedly has its own ghost of a hooded monk which walks the aisle between the stalls, according to the theatre manager. I also love all things ghostly and have done since I was a kid- did I mention that? I did my first show at the Intimate when I was 7 years old and have long loved the traditional and authentic feel of the place.

We have been going great guns with Erika learning all the songs and the harmonies are coming together beautifully, helped greatly by Alex who plays the keyboard for us at rehearsal. I love this show as its got lots going on and musically is very hard to sing, but the resulting sound is worth all our effort. Its unusual to have so many men in our cast for this show and they have outnumbered the girls at rehearsals which is strange, but lovely. Its also great to have two very talented young men in our cast for this show, Jamie and Archie. Hopefully they will enjoy working hard on a fun show with our lively, friendly cast.

I have two little girls aged almost 7 and 3 and a half and they are helping me learn my songs. They follow me around the house singing and I am pleased to get them interested in Gilbert & Sullivan. My husband Richard helps me learn my lines so its a complete family affair. I’m grateful and lucky they support me and always come to my shows. Why not bring your family to see our show too? I’ll be handing over to Chris O’Shea next week when we will be staging our Act 1 finale and learning more wonderful harmonies.

Ahoy there, me hearties!

Welcome to the first of our Pirates blogs. In these blogs we’ll be keeping you up to date with all the goings on during rehearsals and show week.

My names Warren and I’m directing the show. If you don’t know it, where have you been? ‘Pirates’ is a fabulous show which some great songs. It’s an old classic but we’re going to be giving it the full SMP treatment and squeeze out every ounce of humour that we can.

Starting a new show is always great fun and once again we welcome new members to the group, as well as some old faces that have returned and we thank the regular faces for being part of the show.

I’m really looking forward to working with the creative team of Erika (MD) and Fay (Choreographer) to put this show together and create something special and also looking forward to getting the ball rolling with our tech team, Ian (SM), Matt (Set), John (LX) and Phil (Sound) next week to make this show look good and run smoothly.

We had our read through on the Monday night and the creative team let everyone know our plans for the show, we also watched a load of clips from the show to get a feel for it, then it was onto auditions.

Our auditions were great, we didn’t have as many people as for past shows but those that came were of a really high standard and the result is a tight cast of super talented individuals to work with. Personally I’m looking forward to doing a lot of character work and the cast I have is a great bunch of talented actors who I know I will have plenty of fun with as we set the show.

At our first rehearsal we set out, under the guidance of Erika, to learn one of the Policeman’s songs. With so much singing in the show we have our work cut out for us but both Erika and the cast rose to the challenge and our first song sounds great.

Our new youngsters Archie and Jamie took their first SMP rehearsal in their stride and huge thanks must go to another newbie Alex who’s going to be playing piano for our rehearsals, gold dust!

Next week we start setting ‘When the foeman bears his stee’l and then it’s on to learning more new music!

Well that’s it for me, I’m really excited about this show, I’ve plenty of ideas and raring to work with the cast to start putting them in action. You won’t want to miss it.

Pirates of Penzance runs from 7th-10th June and tickets are available to buy through the Millfield box office here:

** If you’d still  like to be part of the show it’s not too late to join, we could still use a couple of men and women. **

** Please get in touch at SMPTheatre@hotmail.com if you’d like to come aboard. **