Palace Theatre

Four star

THIS Broadway romp was a bold and colourful foray into the world of Gilbert and Sullivan with some truly breathtaking voices which wouldn't be out of place on a West End stage.

The society is renowned for pulling out all the stops for their autumn performances and this year was no exception - the presence of Queen Victoria watching the shenanigans from the royal box proved it was a royal production in more ways than one.

The vocal talents of Sophie Grogan as the Major's youngest daughter, Mabel, were outstanding.

Tony Jay also gave an impressive performance as Major General Stanley and didn't once get tongue tied in I Am The Very Model of a Modern Major General - a remarkable achievement considering the speed of the song.

And some great comedy moments accompanied the songfest - a particular favourite was young apprentice pirate Frederic (David Steele) who got the maidens' hearts a-fluttering with his Elvis-style impersonation, complete with spinning glitterball and disco effect.

Mark Williams as The Pirate King, Ron Munro as his lieutenant Samuel and pirate maid Ruth, played by Julie Keeley, also gave very strong performances.

All in all, a great evening's entertainment.

MC