Sasha Regan’s All-Male H.M.S. Pinafore continues at Wilton’s Music Hall, London until 9 April 2022.
Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩
I’m happy to report that this show, which I first saw at Cambridge Arts in 2016, is maturing well like fine wine or good cheese.
A riot of theatrical exuberance and creativity, it bears no resemblance to the staging that narrowly focused WS Gilbert insisted on but is pretty respectful of his words and of Arthur Sullivan’s music, although there have been some subtle key changes to accommodate the all-male cast.
We’re on a Second World War battleship and the set begins and ends with two sets of bunkbeds on castors which Sasha Regan re-imagines as boat rails, small vessels and lots of other things. The men – in their drill shorts and T-Shirts – are amusing themselves by “play acting” and using as props and costumes anything that happens to be around.
Meanwhile Lizzi Gee’s muscular choreography…
Read the rest of this review at Musical Theatre Reviewhttps://musicaltheatrereview.com/sasha-regans-all-male-h-m-s-pinafore-wiltons-music-hall/