‘The Pirates Of Penzance’: An Endlessly Funny Reimagining Of A Classic

Despite first being staged in 1880, there’s nothing that feels outdated about the Hayes Theatre’s new production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance, a wickedly fun choreographed reimagining of this century-old comedy that sails along speedily thanks to its stellar cast and excellent decisions by director Richard Carroll. 

It’s the 21st birthday of the Pirates of Penzance’s youngest member Frederic (Maxwell Simon), and despite the protest of the Pirate King (Jay Laga’aia) and shipmaid Ruth (Brittanie Shipway), he has decided to depart from this motley crew of largely pacifistic pirates. 

On his journey, he falls in love with Mabel (also Brittanie Shipway) and encounters her father, the Major-General (Trevor Jones) in a two-hour odyssey of hilarity. With song lyrics updated for modern audiences and a delightfully meta thread woven throughout the show, it’s a devilishly delightful night of theatre at the Hayes. 

I would wager that this is unlike any production of The Pirates of Penzance you’ve ever seen before. In the intimate performance space of the Hayes Theatre, a number of audience members are situated on stage and are, at times, called upon by the performers to contribute to the comedy – however, the show isn’t at all reliant on these interactions to be funny, with plenty of gags to be enjoyed throughout. 

The brilliant cast of The Pirates of Penzance

Utilising a cast of only five performers who switch costumes on the regular, The Pirates of Penzance is equal parts hilarious and impressively crafted by its creative team. Jay Laga’aia is splendid as the Pirate King (and others!), and is the real heart of the show. Though an extremely jovial figure, he’s often the one who sells the show’s most tangible emotional moments too. 

Maxwell Simon is splendid as the young Frederic, imbuing the character with a hilarious sense of youthful naivety that makes him a deeply earnest himbo. One moment from him that particularly impressed me was when he had to smoulder while staring deeply into the eyes of a cackling audience member, and he didn’t even show a hint of breaking character. That takes real skill!

Cast members Billie Palin and Trevor Jones (also the show’s musical director and often its source of live music) play the most flexible roles in The Pirates of Penzance, but are both hysterical in their roles. A particular shoutout has to go to Jones for when he becomes the Major-General, delivering the show’s wordiest musical number with supremely impressive vocals, piano-playing and lyrics that incorporate a number of hilarious modern references. 

But the MVP of the show has to be Brittanie Shipway, who plays the dual roles of both Ruth and Mabel. Not only are these two characters vastly different – Ruth an “improper” lady and Mabel a dignified woman – Shipway switches vocal styles on the fly to portray both of these characters during different scenes. Even inside of the individual roles, she would completely change singing styles depending on the scene or line in an endlessly fun and remarkable performance. 

As hilarious as it is impressive

Major props has to be given to Richard Carroll’s direction of the show, too; it’s deeply impressive that the show manages to feel both chaotic and controlled at the same time, with some truly mind-boggling choreography that’ll have you wondering how they pulled it off without you noticing (some hand fan shenanigans in Act I come to mind). 

It all makes The Pirates of Penzance feel effortlessly entertaining and funny, in spite of the hard work that’s clearly gone into it. Moving at a mile a minute, this production is as hilarious as it is impressive to watch, and makes for a highly entertaining night of musical theatre.

The Pirates of Penzance is playing at the Hayes Theatre until March 16th. Tickets start at $60 – book online. The production will tour to Illawarra Performing Arts Centre 26-29 March and Canberra Theatre Centre 2-6 April.