Friday 20 January 2012

And a Good Judge Too


December was a very exciting time for the society as for the first time in our history, EUGnS put on a winter production. Trial By Jury took place in Exeter's Historic Guildhall which provided a very beautiful backdrop to the operetta. The show opened with carols conducted by our MD Charlie Hughes.Then the orchestra struck up and Trial by Jury began.

 
Ladies of the Public. Picture by Thomas A J Smith

The story of Trial By Jury centres around the Plantiff, Angelina, who is taking Edwin to court for "breach of promise of marriage". After successfully capturing the attention of the Jury, "we love you fondly, and would make you ours" Angelina finally ensnares The Judge. After little progress with the case, "the question Gentlemen is one of liquor...lets make him tipsy" the Judge proclaims that he "will marry her myself" and Angelina and Judge rush off to church.

Ishan Pankhania, as Counsell for Plantiff, tries to convince the Jury. Picture by Thomas A J Smith. 

The director, Dettie Ellerby, and choreographer, Sheena Drainer, did a fantastic job creating a modern twist on the 19th Century operetta. The Judge spent most of the time swigging from his hip flask whilst Angelina and Edwin had a fight mid-song. The arrival of the Bridesmaids in "Comes the Broken Flower" saw four girls battling over the prime spot next to Angelina, trying desperately to keep their dignity in tact. 

Angelina, Judge, Edwin and Counsell contemplate the Trial. Picture by Thomas A J Smith.

The costumes were inspired, as you can probably tell, by ITV's Downton Abbey. The cast did a fabulous job sourcing their own costumes and creating hair that Lady Mary Crawley would be proud of. It was great fun to dress up in swishy long skirts and lace gloves. Even the boys scrubbed up well! 


Trial by Jury from the sky. Picture by Thomas A J Smith.


The next show EUGnS are putting on is Patience, 6-10th March 2012 in Exeter Northcott Theatre and we would love you to come and see it. We will be updating the blog with more EUGnS news soon.


 Happliy Ever After. Picture by Thomas A J Smith

Wednesday 4 January 2012

"Silence in Court!" (eugns in 2011)

Hello Everyone. We are the Exeter University Gilbert and Sullivan Society and this is our first blog, which means this is our very first post :D
It has been a very exciting year for the society as it is the first time we have produced two shows in one year. March saw us taking to the boards at the Exeter Northcott Theatre (which has been our home since the society began almost 45 years ago) in The Gondoliers. The cast included a number of new students many of whom have joined again this year. For The Gondoliers we were lucky enough to have the photographer Thomas A J Smith on board and most of the pictures on this blog will have been taken by him.
In December we produced our second show Trial by Jury which took place in the historic Exeter Guildhall. The show was on a smaller scale than we usually produce but it was great fun to work on a smaller scale in an intimate venue. The production was inspired by Downton Abbey and we are sure that Lady Mary would be quite jealous of the girls’ costumes!
Our next show, Patience, opens on the 6th of March at Exeter Northcott Theatre. Stay tuned for all the fun and frolics leading up to show week!