HMS Pinafore – London Coliseum

Neal Davies, John Savournin, Bethan Langford and Mel Giedroyc in HMS Pinafore at the London Coliseum. Picture: Craig Fuller

HMS Pinafore continues at the London Coliseum until 7 February 2026.

Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

With the double act of John Savournin and Mel Giedroyc at the helm, HMS Pinafore sails magnificently forth in Cal McCrystal’s revamped 2021 production for English National Opera. Firing cannons adorn designer taki’s ship set, while his costumes light it up in a blaze of colour, with red and white sailors’ uniforms and multicoloured ladies’ dresses.

HMS Pinafore or The Lass That Loved a Sailor (1878) was Gilbert and Sullivan’s first big hit, its typically silly plot poking fun at the British class system. McCrystal adds to the ‘topsy-turvydom’ with jokes, double entendres and physical gags galore, all with a light touch.

A smelly Dick Deadeye (Trevor Eliot Bowes) shooting a giant stuffed albatross, back-flipping sailors, and even a flying Boris Johnson, grace the stage. A tap dance to a hornpipe brings the house down. Giedroyc is shoehorned into the show with a plot twist so daft it is worthy of Gilbert himself. She has many hilarious one-liners and she soars up into the air by her ankle and falls straight down a trap door. Savournin is a superb straight man to Giedroyc, and their partnership gives more than a nod to Morecambe and Wise. However, they never outshine the other great double act of the evening: Gilbert and Sullivan.

Thomas Atkins, as the lovelorn Ralph Rackstraw, uses his powerful tenor voice to good effect, backed by the suitably yearning men’s chorus in ‘A maiden fair to see’. But his real standout moment is speaking some of Gilbert’s more torturous Victorian text at quadruple speed, no lagging here!

With her luscious voice, Henna Mun shines as Josephine and her ‘The hours creep on apace’ is stunning. Neal Davies, as Sir Joseph Porter, gives some vocal oomph to being ‘the wooler of the Queen’s navee’.

The trio, ‘A British tar’, is a standout vocal moment with Alaric Green’s rich bass joining Marcus Farnsworth (Boatswain) and Atkins. As the Captain, Savournin’s ‘Fair moon, to thee I sing’ is gorgeous and funny.

The orchestra is in on the action, speed reading ‘A British tar’ and being teased by Giedroyc; I believe the violas are partial to custard creams… Under Matthew Kofi Waldren’s baton, they play the stirring score with a zip and a bounce, with cracking timpani and soaring solos.

All the choruses are terrific, with a warm blend from the cousins and the aunts, and a rousing sound from the sailors. In the a cappella section, the hall is filled with the full force of their glorious voices.

At the end, a colourful array of multi-national flags during ‘For he is an Englishman’ allays the inherent Victorian jingoism. The unfurling of the English National Opera flag is a poignant moment, met with a roar from the crowd. This excellent laugh-a-minute production is suitable for all the family from age five and up, and remember, under-21s go free.

Effie Gray