TRIAL BY JURY

Milton Musical Society's production

of an evening of Gilbert and Sullivan

Directed and adapted by Stephen Adams
 

If you'd ever wondered about the events leading up to the breach of promise case at the heart of Gilbert & Sullivan’s half-hour curtain raiser, Trial By Jury, the first half of this unusual evening offered a fascinating possibility, using songs and characters immediately recognisable to G&S buffs.

Cleverly penned by Stephen Adams, who also directed, it was set in a small village on a busy Saturday, where a number of weddings were due to take place, the main one being that of Edwin and Angelina, Trial’s main protagonists. But before the vicar, Dr Daly, could unite the happy couple, distractions appeared in the form of Rose and Kate (aka Katisha), both desperately seeking Edwin, who made the choice that set Angelina on the (now all-too-familiar) road to compensation.

Trial By Jury itself proved an enjoyable romp, although I did find it a little confusing that although certain characters were the same throughout the evening, others became someone else entirely – for example, Kate, who wanted to marry Edwin in the first half, became his mother in the second.
 

But it was all fun, and with excellent costumes and lovely performances, especially from Elisabeth Senior, Jane Bagley, Christine Eastwood, Angela Slater and Brian Peach, the evening was certainly no trial to sit through.

Linda Kirkman