Princess Ida continues at the Finborugh Theatre, London until 18 April. Picture: Scott Rylander
Princess Ida continues at the Finborough Theatre, London until 18 April.
Star rating: 4 stars ★ ★ ★ ★
This is only the fourth time I’ve seen Princess Ida in a lifetime of Gilbert and Sullivan-going which has included many dozens of productions of The Mikado, HMS Pinafore and so on. And it’s more than 20 years since the last professional London production.
A sparky satire on 19th century female education among other things, Princess Ida doesn’t get many outings so well done to the Finborough for imaginative programming. I think, moreover, that WS Gilbert – famously and tetchily intolerant of any directorial interpretation other than his own – might have been pleasantly surprised at how well the piece works in this bijou space with its excellent acoustic and a strongly talented cast of just 13 accompanied on two pianos.
Simon Butteriss plays Gama with crisply camp bitterness, every word enunciated and every possible double entendre driven home. A G&S patter man through and though, his attention to detail and quality of performance is glitteringly good.
Bridget Costello’s Ida is suitably strong in her earnest stance against men while immured in Castle Adamant in charge of a hundred female students. Eventually the actress brings real depth to the anguish she feels as she falls for Zac Wancke’s Hilarion, powerfully evoked in her well-modulated soprano.
The three principals are supported by an ensemble of ten, every one of them a fine singer and actor, from which the minor roles emerge. Simeon Oakes as Cyril, for example, is deliciously entertaining with an apparently unlimited range of expressions and poses – lovely work. The clarity of diction from the ensemble is impressive and the harmony in the singing immaculate. As an alternative to the usual large chorus with principals it works a treat and ensures that nothing ever gets fuzzy.
Gilbert’s song lyrics are for the most part as funny and clever as the day they were written, but his spoken dialogue can sound dated and wooden. So director Phil Willmott has gone back to the source material and reworked some of the words to create what he calls in his programme note “a more coherent whole”. The result is a respectful but not slavish, quite traditional take on the piece which is played in period and yet we get some delightful touches such as the gentle nod to alternative marriages at the end.
Susan Elkin
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