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.