THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE - SPACE AGE

The Gilbert and Sullivan music in 'The Pirates of Penzance" is magical and it is a great joy to produce this wonderful show and I have directed the original version twice creating "magic" in Space and then in Egypt while keeping the integrity of the work musically and vocally.

Production Team

Director - Annie Lotocki

Choreographer - Heather Scott

Musical Director - John Davidson with Piano - John Davidson; Double Bass and Bass Guitar - Bill Leeke, Synthesizer - Robert Dearness and Percussion - Darryl Steele.

Wardrobe - Helen Holt

Scenic Artist - Bev McFarlane

The cast of this Pirates of Penzance were:

Major General Stanley - Brad Hayes

The Pirate King - Mark Williams

Samuel - John Ebbott,

Sergeant of Police - Wal Lotocki

Mabel - Kathleen Boyd

Edith - Alison Pryce

Kate - Jan Lennard

Isabel - Heather Scott

Ruth - Marie Thomson

The Daughters

Wendy Brough, Wendy Marsh, Nicole Holt, Ann Seabrook, Lisa Mulligan, Emma Mulligan, Alana Hayley, Kirsty Jackson, Kathleen Boyd, Heather Scott, Marie Thomson, Jan Lennard, Alison Pryce, Kim Chard, Melanie Milne and Louise Link.

The Major General's daughters - with the blue river reeds that were collected in their hundreds from down by the Albert River and spray painted

Male Chorus

John Ebbott, Grant Ebeling, Wal Lotocki, Troy Aspden, Jim Gilmour, James Williams, David Morris, Simon Tate, Luke Hutley, James Welch, Timothy Mason, Luke Hutley, Cameron McCallum, Lang Sio, Tammy Gosling, Natalie Buss, Wendy Charter, Jim Gilmour, and Craig Heidke

The Pirates capture Major Stanley's Daughters.

When operating on a restricted budget long English frocks with yards of material are quite impossible but one day I would love to design and direct the fully costumed English version of Pirates.

Some of the policemen in Pirates of Penzance

There are so many stories with this show with auditions on the 17th and 18th June 1991 at the Memorial Hall in James Street, Beenleigh with plans for the show to open in this venue on the 18th October and play until November 9th. Unfortunately the Memorial Hall was destroyed by Arson and I can remember a few of us frantically getting the pirates costume out of the building while the fire was still smouldering. I remember approaching Annette Mundt from the Beenleigh Show Society to see if we could operate in one of the Pavilions in the Beenleigh Showgrounds and Annette and the Davidson family became great supporters of our efforts to keep the company running and it was a relief in some ways as our hours in the 'Shed" -its affectionate name - were unlimited and creativity was not on a "timeline' as it sometimes is in a council building that you are hiring.

Beenleigh Memorial Hall after the arson attack

Human nature can be perverse and I can remember the wonderful help of so many and the obvious absence of some as we set to to build a theatre in the Pavilion. In the world of Community Theatre some volunteers are workers and others just "like to watch" and "comment" and when all the hard work is done walk in and take over. Enough said. Some of us just "get on with it" - but I know Wal and I were under enormous pressure with three young children and both working full time. It would take its toll eventually.

Building a theatre in a tin shed.

Rehearsals and all activities of the company were now centred in the Pavilion in the showgrounds. It had four walls, lots of roller doors -which proved to be a versatile asset and a "breeze relief" - and a concrete floor. From memory we also ran a planned One Act Play Festival to black plastic drops in this time period.

Rehearsing "Pirates in the "Tin Shed"

This cast were all wonderful singers and their choral work under John Davidson's direction was stunning. The show performed at the Cremorne Theatre in early 1992 after many promotional performances including a Queen Street mall series of shows, Botanical Gardens shows on Australia Day and other events.

Mark Williams as the Pirate King flies into the Cremorne on his space ship.

At the Cremorne a special space ship (see pic above ) was built and the Pirate King flew in and we also had the Major General flying down on his blue umbrella.

Mark and Kathleen become images of the publicity campaign

A series of stunning reviews followed and Patricia Kelly's Review in Opera Australia was particularly complimentary and many letters from audience members were received that congratulated the team.

Review by Patricia Kelly

The last night of "Pirates" at the Cremorne I was deathly tired and just tried to keep functioning. I had no idea that I had had glandular fever and cycla megla virus during the previous few months. I passed out in the audience and was ambulanced out to hospital and that was the start of a whole new story.

The policemen with Wal Lotocki far right as the Sergeant.