The Pirates of Penzance is probably the most famous operetta written by the Victorian equivalent of Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice. They are of course, WS Gilbert And Sir Arthur Sullivan.

Even if you don’t know any Gilbert & Sullivan I’m pretty sure you’ve heard people say “a policeman’s lot is not a happy one.” That’s a song in the show.

The Pirates of Penzance we’re producing has a bevy of beautiful maidens, a gang of bloodthirsty, but as the same time rather nice, pirates and a rabble of comic policemen. Sprinkled in amongst this comic collection of characters is the Sergeant of Police, a Major General, The Pirate King and assorted hangers on.

The plot is typically G&S and there are some great songs in it. Wait for the beautiful rendition of “Hail Poetry” or even better “Poor Wandering One”, or maybe the very fast “I am the very model of a modern major general” or the swashbuckling “For I am a Pirate King.”

The song that all the Pirate gang loves is “With Cat Like Tread.” And if you come along to the show you’ll see why. It’s absolutely brilliant to sing and act in. I can’t wait for the performances to begin! We want everyone to enjoy it as much as we enjoy performing it.

And yes, the months of rehearsal are finally paying off. Because the production which is being put on at the Royal Northern college of Music starts on May 5th at 7:30 and goes straight through to May 8th.

Come along and see us because I can promise you that you’ll see a cast who love doing this show and have all the joie de vivre of a bunch of students. Mainly because most of them are students, from the University of Manchester.

Invest in a good time by getting your tickets from the RNCM box office either though the RNCM Web site or their Box Office Phone Line on 0161 907 5555.

Well we had a beautiful day on Thursday, 4th June. Friday was great until about 4pm and then the heavens opened.

Today? Well Saturday is looking gloomier.

Basically, today’s weather has been a lot more of the same. It’s chucking it down. I can see a couple of very bedraggled marshals standing at the front of the main gates.

It has brightened a little since about 8:30am but it is still pouring down.

Luckily the concert site is up on a rise so there is reasonable drainage down into the rest of the park.

Hopefully, the weather will clear but at the moment it looks as though it wants to keep going all day.

Good luck if you’re coming to the concert today!

I took 3 of my children to watch Mary Poppins at the Manchester Palace theatre on Wednesday night.

I remember seeing the film as part of my birthday treat many years ago and I wanted the girls to have the same excitement for a fun story.

My only worry was that the show set in a theatre couldn’t compete with a film for special effects or vast numbers of scenes. Plus I’d just missed out on getting seats for the matinee performance during half term so this show was at 7:30pm on a school day which meant they’d be back well after bed time.

When we arrived the theatre was stuffed to the gills with people. and this despite the show being near the end of its run (ends of the 7th March). The only seats we could get were limited leg room in the upper circle so we got a fantastic view.

One of the ladies in front of me was was terrified by the angle of the seating and held on for grim death to her seat and her friends seat all through the show. But she was determined to stay.

Mary Poppins Was Supercalifragilistic

Right from the beginning the show went at a breakneck speed that enhanced the magic of Mary Poppins.

Initially I wondered whether Mary Poppins would have a good a voice as Julie andrews. I needn’t have worried. She was as good as Julie Andrews, with the same cut-glass nanny voice as in the film!

We all marvelled at the sets and how Mr and Mrs Banks’ house was folded up like a 3-D Christmas card.

The children’s bedroom, which also doubled for the roof top scenes during the show was extremely well designed and looked solid enough to have been there all the time.

When the hose was rotated the back opened up to show the kitchen. Where Mary Poppins was able to demonstrate her magical abilities after the children had almost destroyed it.

The park near the house was very well done. The cartoon piece in the film was replaced by a fantastic dance routine involving statues, passers-by and an amazing moving set.

Mary Poppins visit to her Uncle (who loves to laugh) was cut from the show without any problem and replaced by a high energy dancing visit to a special shop run by Mrs Coffy where they piece together that special word. Mrs Coffy was in one of the books but not in the film.

Mrs Banks appeared to have much more of a role during the show than in the film, as did Mr Banks. The show actually improved as we saw their real characters.

And of course we got to boo at a hideous nanny drafted in to look after the children after Mary Poppins leaves part way through.

There were several show stopping routines during the show but my favourite was the sweeps dance amongst the chimneys of London.  I got swept away with the choreography and singing

Of course Mary returns and all ends very happily with Mr Banks becoming a senior bank manager (of the type we could all do with at the moment!) with 4 times his current salary.

The finale is a romping, stomping fun end, except for when Mary has to say goodbye to everyone and to Bert.

And then everybody started cheering and whistling as Mary Poppins swept out over the audience seated in the stalls and then right up to those of us in the Gods. And that is a long way to go in the Palace! A truly fitting finale to a fabulous, fabulous show.

Did we think it was a good show. No, we all thought it was great! Well done to all those who took part and to Cameron Mackintosh and Disney for getting it on stage.

My advice, if you’ve not seen it, you really must go and see this fantastic, fun for the whole family production of Mary Poppins before it leaves the stage on the 7th March.

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“Band On The Wall” was one of the first places I heard about for great live music, with a capital ‘M’, when I moved to Manchester as a student in the early 70′s.

You could argue that there was little competition, unless you counted the regular jazz band at Tommy Ducks (now sadly replaced by big city stuff: offices/roads/flats).

Or maybe, if you were a student, The Hulme Hall Disco. Although I’m not sure whether a dense throng of students playing air guitar really counts as live music.

I did go to the Band On The Wall a couple of times but I must say I wasn’t captivated in the same way as my more musically “up with it” friends.

Anyway, the club seemed in danger of fading away over the years until it’s iconic status was recognised and a vast amount of cash pumped in to its refit. In fact the new Band On The Wall will also have a neighbouring building also refurbished and available for “art”.

As I went past it this afternoon it looked as thought there had been a lot of pulling apart and making it better than new going on.

So a new generation of students will be able to visit the Band on the Wall themselves and see what all the fuss was, and hopefully still is, about.

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I’m sure many people in Manchester were shocked by Mr Manchester’s death by a heart attack. That’s been reported on all over the place.

Interestingly, while he appeared to have quite a gruff persona he went out of his way to help a lone American see Manchester as it should be seen, and to explain some of it’s history. That American visitor blogs about Tony’s help in Manchester. In particular how he took him to see Manchester town hall.

I was listening to xfm this morning and the presenter was reading out the latest sightings of Sabi Rock.

First Quay Street and then Trinity Way in Salford. I do not know if this is a regular occurrence, but if you can get yourself talked about on radio by simply walking round with a sign you are on to something.

I mentioned this to Jon Raduch of the Graphics Dept and he told me the man had been in his design agency.

What’s he like and is his music any good?

Jon compared him to Jack Johnson, not a good start. It is actually hard to tell from the website because the music sounds as though it has been recorded at home.
He explained Sabi Rock has a website. He has a selection of tunes but only b-sides on it. You cannot buy from him online! What a waste of effort: a marketing tactic that costs nothing except time and has raised his profile more than any other unsigned musician or band in the city and you cannot exploit all that exercise.

Why huff and puff with coming up with new ideas when you can do it with your feet?

Hold on a minute lads, I have an idea….
(For a selection of images of Sabi Rock go to Flickr).