Pioneer patient lan takes centre stage
Gay Bolton Reproduced by permission of the Derbyshire Times
Brave performance by MS sufferer wins plaudits in magical performance of G&S classic The Sorcerer
By the time you read this, Multiple Sclerosis sufferer lan Clulow will have started a revolutionary medical procedure aimed at transforming his life for the better. He has put himself forward for a stem cell transplant which, if successful, could bring relief to thousands of sufferers who share his walking and sight difficulties. But there was no trace of pre-hospital nerves when lan bravely stepped onto the stage for Matlock Gilbert and Sullivan Society's opening night of "The Sorcerer" on Thursday. Few performers have displayed such stoicism as lan who took measured steps across the stage at Bakewell's Medway Centre, his face displaying no hint of discomfort. In the role of Dr Daly, lan delivered his opening song, Time Was When Love And I Were Well Acquainted, with confidence and clarity and an instrumental solo on recorder was testament to the hours of practice which he had put in. lan was also part of a quintet which aired a song about nursing, tending and mending, particularly poignant given that his friends in the society are launching a £24,000 appeal to fund his treatment which is not available on the NHS.
The Sorcerer, which ran for three nights last week, provided plenty of light relief for the audience as well as giving some of the society's younger members a chance to shine. Playing Constance, the teenager with an eye for middle-aged men, Hannah Boron showed she had the singing qualities and acting ability to be a leading lady of the future, while ten-year-old Elizabeth Blades as the sorcerer's apprentice, Hercules, had an engagingly mischievous smile as she faced the audience having dripped love potion into the teacups of her fellow characters. Nic Wilson and Lesley Kraushaar as principal couple Alexis and Aline amused with lovey-dovey expressions like "exquisite rapture" and "unmingled joy." He had some of the finest lines in the show such as the tongue-twister "lucid lake of liquid love" and "steep the village up to its lips in love" while she had some of the prettiest songs which were delivered with confidence and charm.
The flirting factor stepped up a gear during an hilarious scene between Aline's mother Lady Sangazure and The Sorcerer, John Wellington Wells, characterised by Liz McKenzie and Max Taylor. Their "love me/hate me" duet had been cleverly rewritten so Max could sing: "Hate Me, I sing in Chesterfield a lot!" It wasn't the only change to the script which Max unveiled. In an earlier incantantion, his Prophetic Tables spiel had been updated to include references to "change in Prime Minister and a rise in petrol," which drew a chuckle from the audience.
And the hours of work Max had put into reworking the musical script for a smaller group than an orchestra paid off with some delightful accompaniment from a nine-strong ensemble, conducted by Melanie Gilbert. But it was as The Sorcerer brewing up his magic "love at first sight" potion that proved to be Max's finest moment in the spotlight. He looked like a man possessed as be huddled over a kettle reciting incantantions and summoning up eerie spirit-like voices which sang from behind a gauze screen at the side of the stage.
The exploding kettle scene was sheer magic as it shot out stars and a jet of steam high into the air. But if you don't want to know how they did it, stop reading now.... According to its enterprising creator David 'Mac' McKenzie it was a fire extinguisher triggered by a foot pump!