HMS Pinafore at London Coliseum Review

Taking a classic Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, which is filled with Victorian tropes, staging it in traditional costume, on a traditional set, and then tweaking it with up-to-date jokes and references, is the director’s established modus operandi. Indeed, when he first staged this production four years ago, he brought comedian Les Dennis into the cast, playing Head of the Queen’s Navy Sir Joseph Porter to ruffle establishment feathers (as Jonathan Miller had once done decades before when casting Monty Python’s Eric Idle in The Mikado). For this outing, the theme has been continued with the introduction of TV personality Mel Giedroyc in the minor parts of Aunt Melanie and the Cabin Boy. But unfortunately, the effect is to set the production on the skids. In a bid to put the non-actress, non-singer to good use, it feels like the sense of the piece has been sacrificed to tomfoolery and scene-stealing pantomime, and frankly, a great deal of it became irritating and unfunny. 

Ms Giedroyc spends so much time trying to endear and ingratiate herself on our small screens with her incessant interjections, that she has become a tedious bore and there was a real feeling from the stalls that the remainder of the cast had perhaps too grown weary of the constant need for her to be in the spotlight — particularly when there is a story to be told and other individuals have contributions to make. Not least of these, is the unfolding love story between lowly jack tar Ralph Rackstraw (terrific notes and technique from Thomas Atkins) and Sir Joseph’s intended Josephine (Henna Mun) who just happens to be the daughter of Captain Corcoran (a wonderfully confident turn from the ever dependable John Savournin).

Bethan Langford, Mel Giedroyc, Deborah Davison in ENO’s HMS Pinafore. Photo by Craig Fuller

Sound issues were also a bothersome concern for most of the evening beginning with Buttercup’s near-inaudible upstage entrance (Rhonda Browne, underwhelming) and a few momentary disconnects with the orchestra largely due to the frivolous on stage comic antics.

Les Dennis who, as previously mentioned played Sir Joseph Porter four years ago, is lampooned as having remained in a cupboard aboard ship for the intervening period. For this outing, Sir Joseph (played adequately by Neal Davies) has most of his moments overshadowed by distracting nonsense. Dick Deadeye (Trevor Eliot Bowes) gets to shoot an albatross and join Captain C in a soft shoe moment, but most of the elements one usually awaits in a Pinafore, are lost in schoolboy humour which frankly, wears extremely thin by the end, or seemed already out of date - not least the flag-waving suspended Boris Johnson who flew overhead to the strains of I Am An Englishman. Whatever happened to him?!?! Best moment of the night: HMS PINAFORE on the stern of the ship, being turned into various anagrams (à la Fawlty Towers) as the set revolved, including the delightfully nautical PAN MORE FISH.

If the production is to be revamped again, perhaps consider deploying the expertise of an accomplished stage performer whose talents do not depend solely on a capacity for pulling focus and mugging. Sirs G&S would undoubtedly appreciate the respect for their work and I suspect the audience would derive far more pleasure from the end result.

The advertised running time is 2 hours 15 mins including a 20 min interval, but on the strength of last evening’s timings, be ready to grab coats and make a dash for it, if you’ve a train to catch as some individuals seem incapable of realising when less is more.

Plays at the London Coliseum for select performances until 7 February 2026.