KCLG&S presented...

Trial By Opera

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This was presented on June 30th, and July 2nd & 3rd, 1992 in The Great Hall, King's College London.
'Trial by Opera'
The Ministry for Fun vs. Gilbert & Sullivan

Gilbert and Sullivan are on trial. The Ministry for Fun, in a recent review of the current state of entertainment in Britain, have decided to axe the works of Gilbert and Sullivan. The Ministry accuse G&S :
  1. of boring their audiences.
  2. of pessimism with regards love and relationships.
  3. of writing songs of utter nonsense.
  4. of writing poor quality lyrics and music for the female chorus.
  5. of being anti-establishment and unpatriotic.
The bumbling Judge (a not so discrete alcoholic!) muddles his way through the trial. The evidence to be examined is twenty-seven of G&S' songs taken from six of their operettas. Gilbert and Sullivan do all they can to justify their work and refute the charges brought against them by the Ministry for Fun. Will Gilbert and Sullivan prove their worth or will their operettas be axed forever?

Dramatis Personae
Judge
W.S. Gilbert
A.S. Sullivan
Expert 1
Expert 2
Expert 3
Expert 4
Driver
 - Nick Hodson
- Chris Drew
- Stuart Richards
- Jonathan Pickles
- Alistair Owens
- Fred Armitage
- Dave Petley
- Himself
Chorus of Men: Byan Conlong, Roger Cordery, Nick Green, Alex Hardell, Roger Matthews, Richard Naxton, David Peters, George Russel, Sean Wilson.

Chorus of Women: Eleanor Bainton, Andrea Bentham, Amanda Birch, Susi Burian, Louisa Coulthurst, Catherine Fenton, Susi Gregson, Rachel Jackson, Kirstie Knights, Else Kramer, Jeanette Lahai-Taylor, Antje Koolman, Caroline Mead, Sarah Palferman, Victoria Rae Wych, Christina Sarembe, Mary Sunderland.

Production Team
Musical Director
Pianist
Producer
Script
Artwork
Treasurer
 Alistair Perry
David Peters
Chris Drew
Beth Davies
Liz Lander
Sean Wilson