The National Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company have become an annual favourite at Malvern Theatres. This year’s productions are all accompanied by the acclaimed National Festival Orchestra, and yesterday afternoon I very much enjoyed a double-bill matinee performance of HMS Pinafore and Trial By Jury.

Gilbert & Sullivan’s operas often mocked Victorian society and continue to enjoy popularity to this day. Issues such as class distinctions, bureaucratic inefficiencies, prejudice and injustices resonate just as much in modern times as ever they did. The lyrics and dialogue - full of wit - and the beautiful music have all survived the test of time.

HMS Pinafore (or The Lass That Loved A Sailor) is a comic opera in two acts, written by WS Gilbert with music composed by Arthur Sullivan. Opening in 1878, it was the pair’s fourth collaboration and their first major success. Yesterday afternoon’s performance of the show boasted great vocals from all the performers, with every word spoken or sung being perfectly audible.

HMS Pinafore is a classic tale of forbidden love across different social classes. Josephine (Phoebe Smith) is the captain’s daughter. She is in love with lowly sailor Ralph (excellent tenor Sam Marston). Her father (Bradley Travis) has promised her hand in marriage to the pompous Sir Joseph Porter (Simon Butterworth), the First Lord of the Admiralty. Josephine is torn between her own desires and her loyalty to her father. The whole opera moves at a lively pace and boasts imaginative choreography. There’s some seriously slick slapstick humour to enjoy too, implemented with impeccable comic timing and coming complete with plenty of innuendos and the obligatory campness.

Never Mind The Why And Wherefore in act two - where the captain, the admiral and Josephine all sing at cross purposes - was, for me, one of the show’s highlights. Not only fast paced and funny, it also gave soprano Phoebe Smith the ideal opportunity to showcase her impressive vocals...

The second show in yesterday afternoon’s double bill, Trial By Jury, opened in 1875 and is a one-act operetta. Lasting less than 45 minutes, the performance was exuberant and energetic, with the actors - accompanied by the orchestra - singing non-stop.

The show is about a bride-to-be called Angelina (Claire Ward), who, in her bridal attire and accompanied by her bridesmaids, has been jilted by her fiancé, Edwin (Andrew Brown). Angelina is suing him for breach of promise of marriage - which was a serious crime back in 1875! The scenario is ludicrous, with the characters behaving as if their actions are perfectly reasonable. The satire pokes fun both at judges and the legal system for punishing people, when both judges and jury have committed similar crimes themselves. After hearing the case, the learned judge (Stephen Godward) decides to marry the jilted bride himself!

Both productions yesterday afternoon were truly delightful and full of humour. As you would expect with the National Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company, every actor gave a lively performance, and there were some seriously splendid vocals and fabulous harmonies in evidence. A special mention must go to the brilliant James Hendry, an engaging and enthusiastic young conductor.

Both casts, featuring plenty of young performers, looked as if they were having tremendous fun on stage. They were certainly deserving of the audience’s rousing applause.

The company is also presenting productions of The Pirates Of Penzance and The Gondoliers during its three-day stay in Malvern. It is to be hoped that both of those shows prove every bit as enjoyable and entertaining as yesterday’s double bill.

Four stars

Reviewed by Sue Hull on Thursday 5 September at Malvern Theatres, where the National Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company will also perform The Pirates Of Penzance today (Friday the 6th at 7.30pm) and The Gondoliers tomorrow (Saturday the 7th at 2.30pm and 7.30pm).