GET ready to go on board! Sailing into the county next week will be the much-loved and highly-acclaimed all-male HMS Pinafore!

The show has now embarked on an extensive UK Tour to ensure no-one misses the boat.

Local theatregoers have the opportunity to join the hilarity of Gilbert and Sullivan at Malvern’s Festival Theatre with the award-winning company that brought opera fans the all-male productions of The Pirates of Penzance (winner of Best Off West End Production at What’s On Stage awards), Iolanthe and Patience.


Set, this time, in the hold of a Second World War battleship, the cast of 16 skilfully play both burly sailors, in the working underbelly of the vessel, and their lady visitors.

It promises to be a frisky, innovative and heartfelt production, with a simple set and beautiful costume design allowing maximum scope for inventiveness from the cast, whereby physicality and voice are key to telling the story.

Inspired in part by director Sasha Regan’s experiences of performing Gilbert and Sullivan at a single-sex school, the production plays on the humour that can emerge from these gender changes.

One of the most popular Gilbert and Sullivan operas, dealing with the age old conundrum of love between social classes, Pinafore has infectious tunes and a beautifully constructed libretto which is a perfect match for this creative team’s inimitable style.

It opens on Tuesday, July 5 and runs through to Saturday, July 9.