Review

(Unknown Source)

"A very splendid show it was too, DESPITE the fact that there was (admittedly fairly good) singing in it (it's a play about the Opera, it's moreoeless inevitable). Very funny, very VERY funny in fact, very well acted, (and of course the stage crew did a grand job), and there's a great "Death of Rats" in it too! Great Acting, with just about everyone playing the characters exactly how Pratchett-fans will remember them from the books. If you REALLY HAD to criticise it, you could say the Esme "the crone" was a bit too young, but this certainly didn't ruin it at all. The scene with the injured thieves is great, and Senor Basilica enjoying Ankh-Morpork food, and Christine's over-acting was brilliant. Definately well worth seeing - another very well done Pratchett play by the Brunel Alumni / Purple Theatre bunch."

Synopsis

Picture the scene if you will. The corps de ballet gracefully pirouetting. An innocent, young soprano practising her scales. The stage crew carefully making the final adjustments to a magnificent set. High above them all hangs a dazzling chandelier - the jewel in the crown of the Ankh-Morpork Opera House.

Now the reality... Highly-strung divas who just can't sing. The theatre owner - an expert in... cheese. An orchestra who spend more time in the pub than the pit and high above them all a mysterious, murdering Phantom. Or is he?

Perdita X (or Agnes to her friends) seeks her fortune as an opera singer in Ankh-Morpork. All seems perfectly normal (as far as normal can be on a world balanced on four elephants standing on a giant turtle) until a ghostly Phantom begins to wreak havoc and dead bodies start to fall from the rafters.

But the show must go on! Cue Granny Weatherwax - witch extraordinaire, assisted, in her own inimitable way, by the saucey Nanny Ogg.

Will our young soprano meet a ghastly fate? Will the fake tenor be discovered? And why is that chandelier swinging so much? The classic tale of The Phantom of the Opera takes on new and quirky twists, as culture arrives (and staggers to a halt) in Terry Pratchett's Discworld. A hilarious tale of witches, dwarves, and a very 'unusual' cat, guaranteed to bring the house down - unless the Phantom does it first...

Performance Details

Maskerade was performed from Wednesday 21st to Saturday 24th April 1999 at the Compass Theatre, Glebe Avenue, Ickenham.