Batten down the hatches. Strike the colours. The pirates are back. The ENO’s smash-hit production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s swashbuckling farce returns shortly – and is set to get audiences toe-tapping along all over again.
With its splendidly silly storyline, wild wordplay and well-loved songs, this Mike Leigh-created production is irresistibly feel-good. An apprentice pirate woos the Major General’s daughter, while his bungling buccaneer-shipmates try to outwit an equally inept party of policemen. Its vibrant staging brings out the sunshine in the story.
The Pirates of Penzance is one of Gilbert & Sullivan’s most popular operas and contains some of their most memorable melodies. These include ‘I am the Very Model of a Modern Major General’, ‘A Policeman’s Lot is Not a Happy One’ and ‘With Cat-like Tread’.
This revival is directed by Sarah Tipple and conducted by Natalie Murray Beale. G&S favourites and ENO regulars Richard Suart and John Savournin are the Major General and the Pirate King respectively. Meanwhile, ENO Harewood Artist Isabelle Peters sings the role of Mabel, and former Harewood artist William Morgan is Frederic.
Co-production with Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg and the Saarländische Staatstheater Saarbrücken.
Assisted performance
BSL signed: Saturday 8 February 2025 at 2.30pm
Relaxed performance: Thursday 30 January 2025, 1pm
2hr 15min. Incl 1 interval.
Opera, West End, Classical, Cyber Monday, Black Friday
Ages 5+. Children under the age of five are not permitted in the auditorium. Children under the age of 16 must be seated with an adult.
2nd December, 2024
21st February, 2025
Sung in English, with subtitles projected above the stage
Location: West End
Railway station: Charing Cross
Bus numbers: St. Martin's Lane 24, 29, 176 / 6, 9, 11, 13, 15, 23, 87, 91, 139
Night bus numbers: St. Martin's Lane 24, 176, N5, N20, N29, N41, N279 / 6, 23, 139, N9, N15, N11, N13, N21, N26, N44, N47, N87, N89, N91, N155, N343, N551
Car park: Q-Park: Chinatown (5mins) / Other: St Martin's Lane Hotel (1min)
Directions from tube: (3mins) Take Cranbourn Street until St Martin’s Lane, where you head right until you reach the theatre.
Day of week | Matinee | Evening |
---|---|---|
Monday | - | - |
Tuesday | - | - |
Wednesday | - | 7:00 PM |
Thursday | - | - |
Friday | - | 7:00 PM |
Saturday | 1:00 PM | - |
Sunday | - | - |
We are a member of the Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers (STAR) and operate within the code of practice STAR sets down for its members.