140-year-old comedy still strikes a chord

MORE than 140 years after it first premiered, Gilbert and Sullivan’s Patience is still poking fun at vanity, celebrity and social trends.

The Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Victoria (GSOV) will bring the comic opera to Queenscliff Town Hall on 18 and 19 July as part of its regional touring program.

Director Robert Ray believes the satire remains just as relevant today as it was when the opera debuted in 1881.

“It is about the human foibles of pretences, of phoniness, of following, of putting on our uniforms or looks to attract people,” Ray said.

“I think those qualities are very much alive today in our own society.”

Director and choreographer, Robert Ray, instructs the chorus. Photo: Robin Halls.

Ray believes that enduring social commentary is what has helped Patience remain one of Gilbert and Sullivan’s most timeless works.

The comic opera follows rival poets Bunthorne and Grosvenor as they compete for the affections of the innocent milkmaid Patience, while satirising the fashions and social obsessions of Victorian England.

Ray’s appreciation for Gilbert and Sullivan stretches back more than four decades. He was 12 when a schoolteacher first introduced him to HMS Pinafore on the classroom radiogram.

“It was enchanting,” he said.

Nicole Webster and Elena Griffiths as raptuous maidens besotted with the local poets and in the last stages of despair. Photo: Robin Halls.

Years later, he directed Melbourne Opera’s 2017 production of HMS Pinafore, an experience he described as “like revisiting a childhood friend”.

That lifelong passion has convinced Ray that Gilbert and Sullivan’s productions have broad appeal.

“They are such joyous works, and they don’t write them like that anymore,” Ray said.

Patience will be the GSOV’s third production in Queenscliff, following performances of The Mikado last year and The Arcadians earlier this year.

While ticket sales have become more unpredictable since the pandemic, Ray said regional audiences had continued to strongly support the company’s performances.

“We love going into the country,” he said. “The audience is very appreciative.”

Left: Marissa Panzin as Lady Ella, lamenting her tragic love for Bunthorne the false poet. Right: Geelong local Terence MacManus as Lieutenant, The Duke of Dunstable. Photos: Robin Halls.

Ray said Queenscliff had become one of his favourite places to perform.

“It’s a delight to bring a show down there,” he said. “People are wonderfully warm and friendly and I am sure that they’re going to really love this production.”

He said the production was led by a cast he considered among the strongest he had worked with, headed by Renee Mohring in the title role.

Patience will be performed at 2pm on 18 and 19 July at the Queenscliff Town Hall.

Tickets are available at gsov.org.au/patience