The Sorcerer – Wilton’s Music Hall and Touring

Catrine Kirkman and Richard Suart in The Sorcerer at Wilton’s Music Hall, London and Touring. Picture: Bill Knight

The Sorcerer was reviewed at Wilton’s Music Hall, London. The tour continues until 18 August 2024.

Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩

‘My name is John Wellington Wells, I’m a dealer in magical spells’ was penned by WS Gilbert in The Sorcerer, his first full-length production with Arthur Sullivan. It premiered in London in 1877 and has since been overshadowed by their subsequent more politically sharp successes. It is, however, G&S to its core with an old-fashioned plot that involves ‘wifely duties’ of cooking and cleaning and the age-old trope of the love potion. The latter is, of course, brewed in a large teapot and given to an entire village. The result? All the wrong people fall in love, and chaos ensues.

Under John Savournin’s direction in this Charles Court Opera staging, starry-eyed love and uptight Britishness are hilariously juxtaposed with unbridled lust. The ‘Welcome Joy’ duet with Catrine Kirkman’s Lady Sangazure and Matthew Palmer’s Sir Marmaduke is a masterpiece of repressed English desire and comic timing. Her duet, ‘Oh I have wrought much evil with my spells’ with Richard Suart’s John Wellington Wells, brings the house down.

There is no orchestra, which is a shame as this is a beautifully orchestrated piece. Music director David Eaton keeps the show tripping along on an old upright piano. This has an air of authenticity in Wilton’s Music Hall, an original mid-19th-century music hall. The score has been cleverly adapted, losing none of the story, for the nine-member cast. As well as singing their solo roles, they also sing the choruses, with a rousing ‘Tea-cup Brindisi’.

Despite the green lighting, the potion scene lacks spectacle. The teapot is small – it is not big enough for the small cast members, never mind a whole village! Suart as The Sorcerer, John Wellington Wells, works his socks off with his diction and word colour, but he could do with a firework or two emitting from the pot.

This is an excellently sung production with exciting voices. The dialogue is top-notch, with every word projected clear as a bell. Robin Bailey’s powerful tenor as Alexis is well matched by Ellie Neate’s strong lyric soprano as Aline.

Meriel Cunningham as Constance is a fine comic actress with a characterful, fluttery tone. Matthew Kellett is a handsome Dr Daly with a burnished baritone voice. As Sir Marmaduke, Palmer has a fabulous, rich baritone voice and is very funny, particularly in his duet with Rosie Strobel’s tremendous Mrs Partle.

Suart delivers his patter song with an understated charm, and Hugo Herman-Wilson is first-rate as the Notary with a terrific bass voice.

Set and costume designer Lucy Fowler paints the picture of a dream-like village fete in pastels and bright colours with a tea van at its centre. The purple glow of Aaron J Dootson’s lighting in the love scenes, but sinister green as the potion is brewed, sprinkles some magic. In the final chorus, choreographer Merry Holden’s joyously energetic barn dance makes the audience feel that they really are on the village green. G&S fans and lovers of English comedy should flock to see this rare gem.

Effie Gray