South Pacific

This week we attended the Leeds Amateur Operatic Society production of South Pacific. Below is my critique of the show.

Whilst there may be the word “Amateur” in their title, LAOS (Leeds Amateur Operatic Society) is highly professional in all aspects of their productions and their current show, South Pacific, would easily grace any West End Stage, such is the quality of the acting, singing and choreography. South Pacific is now 62 years old but this current production at West Yorkshire Playhouse is as fresh as that original production on 7th April 1949 must have been. The sets are excellent, the production ultra-slick and the music of the highest quality. A great production needs both highly talented principals and an outstanding chorus and this had both in abundance. The chorus was superb and the harmonies in the renditions of “Bloody Mary” and “There is nothing like a Dame” by the male chorus were first class. Four principals really stood out for me. Firstly Gemma Durkin as Nellie Forbush who has an excellent vocal range and is a highly talented actress to boot. Her renditions of “I’m gonna wash that man right out of my hair”, “A Wonderful Guy” and “Honey Bun” were outstanding. Her leading man, Jonathan Penton as Emile de Becque was truly sensational in his portrayal of the part. His French accent never faltered both in his singing and his acting and I am sure many of the audience actually may have thought that he was of French origins. The humour in the show was brought to the fore by Pat Bell as Bloody Mary and Phil Hopkins as Luther Billis. Pat’s portrayal of the Tonganese matriarch endeared her to the audience and she received well-deserved applause for her renditions of “Bali Ha’i“ and “Happy Talk”. Phil was also highly amusing in his role of Luther Biliss and the rapport between the two of them was outstanding. Apart from the above, I was also impressed with Liam Gilbert as Joe Cable and Paige Drury-Lawrence as Liat. Liam has a fairly quiet voice but vocally he was spot on with his rendition of “Younger than Springtime”. The musical direction by Jim Lunt was of the highest standard and the overall production and choreography by Louise Denison was extremely professional. A superb show thoroughly enjoyed by the audience throughout the 2½ hours.

February's Pictures

The end of another month so here are my daily pictures taken during the month of February.


1st February - Had to go down to Barnsley on business.. Here is the M1 at the Barnsley junction.






2nd February - Copperfield Grove on my lunchtime walk.






3rd February - Tree full of Catkins.








4th February - Building work near the Copperfield Estate.








5th February - River Wharfe in spate.






6th February - Went over to see my friend Peter Linney at Knaresborough. Picture of the River Nidd with the House in the Rock..






7th February - The Carlsberg warehouse which I pass on my lunchtime walk.







8th February - Richmond Hill Church - another landmark on my walk.







9th February - Entrance to the Hesco Bastion factory.







10th February - Thursday Night at Slimming World. Was "Slimmer of the Week" with a 4 pound weight loss.





11th February - Had to go and do an audit at one of our tenanted properties.






12th February - Day out in Scarborough. Peasholm Park looking very splendid.





13th February - First crocus out in the garden.






14th February - Theatre visit to see "Yes Prime Minister".







15th February - Building work at Cook's on my lunchtime walk.







16th February - Damaged fencing on the road near work.








17th February - Concrete silo at Hanson's Yard.





18th February - Cycle routes on my walk.







19th February - Overnight snowfall had nearly covered the crocuses.






20th - Replenishment of the freezer from M&S.





21st February - Theatre visit to see "Half a Sixpence" at one of our local theatres.







22nd February - A visit from work over to Beverley enabled me to get a shot of the Minster and the River Hull.




23rd February - Had to get some wood from Howarth Timber to repair the bookshelf in the studay at home.






24th February - Herbie, our Hamster out playing in the evening.







25th February - Our son Chris and his wife were away for the weekend so we had to go and feed their cat, Milly, who has just had an operation on her ear, hence the collar!





26th February - Went to the World Premiere of "Cleopatra" performed by The Northern Ballet Company in Leeds.







27th February - Swan gliding on the River Wharfe at Otley.






28th February - Early morning sunrise from our garden.