Meersbrook Park Church Operatic Society’s The Yeoman Of The Guard – 25 February 2026, Meersbrook Park Church
Review by Paula Turner.
At one time lots of local amateur dramatic societies used to put on productions of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, but these days they are few and far between. However, Meersbrook Park Church Operatic Society have been running since 1927, performing Gilbert and Sullivan annually since 1931, and are still going strong. This year their Centenary production is Yeomen of the Guard, and we went to see it tonight.
For those not in the know, W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan wrote comic operas in the late 19th century and they were enormously popular at the time – the equivalent of modern musical theatre. Their main appeal was, and still is, that they poke fun at the aristocracy, the establishment and self-important people. Even when the setting is feudal Japan or Venice, it’s still Britain that the plays poke fun at, with some irony even in the patriotic sentiments, although modern audiences might be surprised to know that.
Most of G&S’s works are out-and-out comedy, but Yeomen of the Guard is a bit different. It’s their only work with a serious ending. Oh, it does have plenty of comedic scenes and lighthearted songs, but less satire, and ending in a tragedy. Perhaps as a result it seems to be produced less often than works such as The Pirates of Penzance or The Mikado. But having previously seen a production of it at last summer’s Buxton International G&S Festival I was keen to see it again and find out what Meersbrook Park Church Operatic Society had made of it.
The action takes place at the Tower of London, with the Yeoman Warders and inhabitants of the Tower involved in a story of wrongful conviction and escape, a marriage of convenience, and deceptions. I don’t think I can be accused of giving spoilers to the plot of a play this old by saying it revolves around the fates of Colonel Fairfax, wrongly condemned and awaiting execution, and a pair of strolling players Elsie Maynard and Jack Point. There are twists and turns and high comedy before an ending which looks like it’s going to be happy but ends in heartbreak.
In this production, directed by Jo Hutchesson with Gwen Nimmo as the Musical Director, the music is ably provided by a piano accompaniment rather than an orchestra, which makes sense given the size of the venue. The costumes under wardrobe mistress Lindsay Whittaker are done to a high standard. I could have wished for a little more in the way of scenery and props, but due to the layout of the stage the minimal nature of this is understandable – and they did manage to get in the traditional spinning wheel at the beginning!
Even on this opening night the stage direction and performances were spot on, and this seems to be a well-rehearsed production. The choral numbers are excellently sung by the ensemble cast and the principal parts are all well done, but particular note has to be made of Loren Parker as a lively Elsie Maynard, Ruth Speare with a nice comic touch as Phoebe Meryll, Richard Nortcliffe as Colonel Fairfax and Michael Bond as the obnoxious Shadbolt. Bond has particularly nice set pieces with both Speare and Tim Whitehead, who plays Jack Point, the jester crying on the inside. Another nice comedic pairing is that of Steve Hibbert as Sergeant Meryll and Jenny Nortcliffe as Dame Carruthers.
As the story comes to its conclusion, the couples – happy and not so happy – pair off and we see what looks like a typical sunny G&S ending at the wedding, but then Jack Point arrives. We see Elsie has broken his heart and we get a sad version of the happy song they were singing when we first saw them, before he takes poison and falls dead in front of the bridal couple. Audiences used to modern musicals might find this less surprising than G&S’s contemporary audiences would have, but it is still a very affecting ending. And I’m sure many of the audience will have had Point’s small, broken song in their head as they left the hall.
All in all a great production, worthy of the Society’s 100th year!
