|
|
Ruddigore
or “The Witch’s Curse”
by W.S. Gilbert & Arthur Sullivan
Performed at The Little Theatre Monday 11 April
-
Our
2005 production was a return after 21 years of Gilbert & Sullivan's Ruddigore.
Although not one of the best-known works from the G&S canon, Ruddigore
contains some gorgeous music as well as gently poking fun at the Victorian
melodrama. The operetta includes the well-known song by a ghostly
ancestor "When the Night Wind Howls", as well as a beautiful madrigal
and a classic patter song.
Click for photographs of us in
rehearsal or
see below for pictures of the show on stage
Production team:
The Players were delighted to welcome back the same production team as in 2004:
Director: ROBERTA
MORRELL
Musical Director: MICHAEL
BONSHOR
SETTING
Early in the
19th century
Act 1: The
Fishing Village of Rederring, Cornwall
Act
2: The Picture
Gallery in Ruddigore Castle
SYNOPSIS
ACT 1
Rederring's professional bridesmaids are eager
to learn whom Rose Maybud, the village's most beautiful unmarried maiden, is to
marry. Rose is very partial to Robin Oakapple, a young farmer, but he is
too shy to declare his own love for her and she (too attentive to the rules of
etiquette) refuses to speak first. Rose is, however, unaware of Robin's guilty
secret: he is Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd, the true baronet of Ruddigore. In
Elizabethan times a witch cursed the house of Ruddigore, compelling every
holder of the baronetcy to commit a crime per day or die in agony.
Horrified at the thought of the curse, Ruthven ran away some years ago before
he could inherit the title. In the belief that Ruthven was dead, the
title passed in time to his younger brother Despard, who now labours under the
curse. The only people who know Robin's secret are his old servant Adam
Goodheart and his foster-brother Richard Dauntless, a sailor. Home
from the sea, Richard undertakes to speak to Rose on Robin's behalf but falls
in love with her himself. In order to prevent her marrying Robin, Richard
reveals Robin's true identity to Despard, Rose rejects him in horror and
Robin reluctantly takes up his unwanted title and its curse.
Click on photographs
for a larger version
|
|
|
ACT 2
Ruthven has held his
title for a week and is still trying to get used to the idea of being an evil
baronet. Old Adam tries to suggest
various crimes for his master to commit but Ruthven cannot bring himself to
commit anything more serious than “technical” crimes – such as forging a cheque
for a man who has no bank account anyway…
Ruthven is standing in the portrait gallery of his castle when the curse
on his house comes to vivid life – all the portraits on the walls suddenly come
to life and the ghosts of his ancestors step down from the frames and demand to
know why he is not committing his daily crime.
They are not satisfied with his evasions and command him – at once – to
carry off a woman from the nearby village.
Ruthven refuses and the ghosts call down the agonies of the old curse on
his head. Beaten by the pain, Ruthven
accedes to their demands and the ghosts return to their frames. Despard returns to see his brother and
persuade him to give up his evil ways, bringing with him his new wife Margaret,
whose affections he (as the former baronet) had spurned, driving her mad. Despard uses Margaret’s plight as an example
to his brother of the evils of being the wicked baronet. Ruthven determines to face down the ghosts
the next day with an ingenious conundrum: since a baronet of Ruddigore can only
die through failing to commit a daily crime, then that failure is tantamount to
suicide – yet suicide is, itself, a crime!
Therefore, as he explains to the ghosts, they should never have died at
all… and the ancient curse is finally lifted.
Ruthven is finally able to marry Rose, Richard settles for one of the
bridesmaids, and Rose’s maiden aunt finds herself strangely reunited with the
ghost of her former fiancé, Sir Roderic Murgatroyd.
|
|
|
MORTALS
Sir RUTHVEN MURGATROYD David Lovell
(disguised
as ROBIN OAKAPPLE, a young farmer)
RICHARD DAUNTLESS Bruce Vyner
(his
foster-brother, a Man-o'-war's man)
Sir DESPARD MURGATROYD Philip de Voil
(of
Ruddigore, a Wicked Baronet)
OLD
(Robin’s
faithful servant)
ROSE MAYBUD (a Village Maiden) Alexandra Hopewell
DAME HANNAH (Rose’s Aunt) Ethne Goode
ZORAH (a Professional
Bridesmaid) Lesley Heighton
RUTH (a Professional Bridesmaid) Janette
Faulkner
GHOSTS
Sir RUPERT
Murgatroyd (the
First Baronet) Richard Blackman
Sir Lionel
Murgatroyd (the
Sixth Baronet) David Robinson
Sir Desmond
Murgatroyd (the
Sixteenth Baronet) Brian Moore
Sir Mervyn
Murgatroyd (the
Twentieth Baronet) Alan Gale
And
Sir RODERIC
Murgatroyd (the
Twenty-First Baronet) Ron Smith
PROFESSIONAL BRIDESMAIDS,
VILLAGERS, BUCKS & BLADES and ANCESTORS
Sandra Bloxham, Pauline Brimble, Josie Childs, Nina Crook, Sue Cross,
Natalie Faulkner, Jo Holroyd, Gill Horton, Christl Hughes,
Patricia Johnson, Emily McDonald, Jane McDonald, Pam Meade, Helen Rae, Elaine
Taylor, Clare Townend.
David Alcraft, Richard Blackman, Alan Bullas, Peter Charleston, Alan
Gale, Keith Goode, Trevor Harvey, John Heighton,
Brian Moore, Ben Pick, David Robinson, Ron Smith, Richard Smithson,
Barry Taylor, Frank Timson, Frank Williams.
PRODUCTION
Director Roberta Morrell
Musical Director Michael Bonshor
Accompanist Gill Hawkes
Stage Manager Terry Bolingbroke
Assisted by Ron Billings, Penny Charles
Technical
Stage Manager John
Hendrie