The Pirates of Penzance – review

It is a glorious thing that The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company – purveyors of all things Gilbert and Sullivan – have returned to the stage after 10 years in the wings. That they've teamed up with Scottish Opera to co-produce this classic new Pirates no doubt means that every last wink and warble has been done by the book. Certainly it feels that way. The pirates gamely swashbuckle, the beautiful maidens duly swoon. There are bouts of mild slapstick and comic regional accents – in fact, you couldn't ask for a more solid, safe production. It just isn't quite funny enough. Because whether you're a G&S devotee or not, Pirates should be inescapably, idiotically funny.

Sullivan's gleeful musical pastiches and Gilbert's outlandish rhymes and satire should induce real belly laughs, but here only got giggles and (after interval drinks) the odd guffaw. There's a solemnity to this silliness – perhaps in his diligent attention to authenticity director Martin Lloyd-Evans forgot that a healthy dose of hamming it up is key to the whole thing.

But there's loads to enjoy, too. It's a handsome production, set in sparse pastels and goofy cartoon cut-outs. Nicholas Sharratt is perfectly cast as the hapless Frederic – he's handsome, articulate, doe-eyed and sings beautifully – and Stephanie Corley's Mabel nails the high notes with playful aplomb. Graeme Broadbent gives a fine turn as Police Sergeant; D'Oyly Carte veteran Richard Stuart could make more of Major-General Stanley. The chorus straddles an opera/music theatre sound and comes out a tad on the shouty side, while on opening night the orchestra sounded bright and jovial under Derek Clark. The production tours the UK into July, and might loosen up along the way.