The year is 1968 and the British legal system is as corrupt as ever. The ‘breach of promise of marriage’ law is still technically in force and Juries remain predominantly male.
The arrogant Edwin has been summoned to Court by his ex-fiancée, Angelina, under said law, and against each other they fight to win The Trial! Complete with a dodgy Judge, a questionable jury, and some dubious decisions, chaos inevitably ensues…
Trial by Jury is a one-act operatic satire of the British legal system, which will be brought into the ’60s in our exciting rendition of Velocirapture Production’s debut show!
Despite being the shortest of Gilbert and Sullivan’s operettas, Trial by Jury is no less packed with musical complexity, catchy solo songs and bombastic full company numbers. The show continues at a quick pace, during which the music never ceases for the entire time. Spoken scenes are replaced with recitatives (sung dialogues), and are characterised by frequent pauses and tempo changes.
Director Tiffany Charnley talks about her decision to move the production out of its traditional Victorian era into the late sixties: “[it] was because of its close proximity to the date of the [breach of promise of marriage] law’s repeal, making the show’s setting as contemporary as possible while still making legal sense – the law was repealed 1971.
“I hope that by bringing the show out of the time period of its original context and placing it at a much later time, the ludicrous nature of Gilbert’s satire of the legal system can be further heightened.”
She goes on to talk about how this change in setting would change our perception of the Plaintiff: “Our setting has allowed us to remove the character of Angelina from a position of victim in this Trial, to a more powerful role who manipulates this outdated law to her own advantage.”
One of the musical challenges for the show has been in reducing a score written for full orchestra to one with only 8 players, and half the number of parts.
Musical Director, Robert Nicholas, says: “[we] had to carefully select the instruments to best cover the textures and harmonies in the original score, whilst [still] producing a voluminous, but easily blended sound.
“As the conductor, I am not exempt from multitasking, aiming to also cover the Bass Drum, Cymbals, Triangle and, occasionally, Second Violin!”
Trial by Jury promises to be an afternoon of stunning vocals and comedic satire!
Listings Information:
Trial by Jury, theSpace Triplex (Big), 22 – 27 August, 1:45pm
Tickets: £10/8, https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/trial-by-jury
Edinburgh Fringe Box Office: 0131 226 0000
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