A CAPACITY crowd packed the village hall at Coaley on the evening of Saturday, March 22 to attend a Gilbert and Sullivan evening, the latest production offered by the Cotswold Chorus. Resplendent in their new livery, this was their Spring Supper Concert, so not only was there a musical feast for Gilbert and Sullivan fans (both new and old) but an ample buffet that had been provided by members of the choir, the price being included in the ticket admission cost.

The musical director and conductor was David Furnival and the choir was accompanied by James Corbett. Some of the solo parts were sung by Peter Nolan and the events throughout the evening were compered by Rose Stower.

Apart from the Gilbert and Sullivan offerings, there were two interludes throughout the concert whereby the audience were entertained by a Guitar Duo consisting of Jack Evans and Beth Poultney. They are both year 11 pupils at Rednock School and they very competently played Flamenco style and latin American guitar music. They have been playing together for 2 years and they join Rednock music tour to Spain in summer 2014. The Guitar Duo added to the Gilbert and Sullivan comedy scenario. Excerpts were selected from HMS Pinafore, Pirates of Penzance, the Mikado and the Gondoliers. All parts were sung with great gusto and a wry smile to depict Gilbert and Sullivan’s send up of political events, some of which are very relevant today. The choir handled the majority of parts very well and the soloist Peter Nolan was excellent.

Richard Osler