A Review of Oxford University's Ruddigore

by Nick Sales


There were undeniably some good points in the production. Ben Newhouse-Smith as Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd was excellent, and the whole production was lifted a good deal upon his entrance. Up until that point, the principals had been a little disappointing. Katherine Rice-Oxley as Rose, despite looking very much the part, was a very light-weight soprano, with little projection; and Lynette Petersen as Dame Hannah had a strong transatlantic accent which she did little to disguise. In addition, she too was something of a light-weight singer.

It should be mentioned at this point that all those performers are very young, in the 18-24 age bracket. However, those who have seen the productions in previous years by St. Mary's School will be aware that lack of experience is no excuse for underprojecting the voice.

The orchestra, under the direction of James McCullagh, played Sullivan's music well, but Mr. McCullagh sadly failed to be sufficiently sympathetic to the quieter performers. (It was also remarked by sundry Savoynetters in the Festival Club that his tempi were generally a little slow.)

Rachel Phillippo's interpretation of Mad Margaret was extremely well-received. Likewise Martin Lamb's Despard was excellent, and displayed and excellent sense of melodrama and admirable comic timing. David Menezes as Richard Dauntless demonstrated that he has an exceptionally sweet tenor voice, though again, more projection would have been nice. Also, his acting was a little less larger-than-life than the traditional portrayal of the rambunctious man-o-war's man.

One interesting point of note was that the original version of "Oh! Happy the Lilly" was used for the finale to Act II.

All in all, it was generally felt that the production was a matter of opportunities missed rather than chances taken.