Ruddigore, Opera North, Newcastle Theatre Royal

Ruddigore, one of Gilbert and Sullivan’s lesser performed works, has been likened by some to Marmite. But, sprinkled with stardust by Opera North director Jo Davies, it proved to the taste of most palates at Newcastle’s Theatre Royal on its first outing in 20 years. Set in the Cornish village of Rederring, the topsy-turvy plot features a troupe of professional bridesmaids, an over modest village maiden Rose Maybud (Amy Freston), the cheerful sailor Richard “Dick” Dauntless (Hal Cazalet) and the bad baronets of Ruddigore; the Murgatroyds, who are cursed to commit a crime a day. The slowly-paced first half of the show was enlivened by the cape-swishing entrance of Sir Despard Murgatroyd (Richard Burkhard), who has been deceived by his elder brother Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd (Grant Doyle) into taking on the curse. Sir Ruthven, disguised as Robin Oakapple, is exposed on his wedding day and has to take up the family curse. In an inspired scene of stagecraft, the Ruddigore ancestors spring to life and emerge from their portraits on the wall to upbraid Sir Ruthven for the timidity of his crimes, including mere fiddling of his expenses. The strong cast includes a suitably dotty Heather Shipp as Mad Margaret and Steven Page, who plays an authoritative Sir Roderic Murgatroyd, giving a stunning rendition of “When the night wind howls”. References to phone hacking, duck houses and the Speaker’s wife posing nude in a sheet, were in the spirit of Gilbert and went down well with the audience. Particularly impressive were the rapid patter passages delivered with unerring accuracy and conviction. Slick dance routines, brilliant singing and strong performances all round made for an evening of high-energy entertainment.