What is it about Gilbert and Sullivan?

I was practising away at my singing last night - scales, arpeggios, all the nonsense of breathing exercises that my dog Clyde finds fascinating and an considers an obvious prelude to a game - followed by some Bellini, some Schubert, some Wolf, and finally (and best of all) Gilbert and Sullivan. After that I settled in to start learning my lines for Thespis.

My partner Aaron was off at a concert by The Handsome Family, accompanied by his friend Richard. I quite like The Handsome Family, but its better that he see them with a true devotee. With the house to myself, and with the power mercifully restored, I settled in to watch a DVD about sharks. Specifically, a DVD about sharks that jump out of the water to eat seals. This predictably held my interest for about twenty minutes. If you have seen one flying shark, you have seen them all. So it was back to G&S for me.

What is it about G&S that I find so comforting? I have said it before, and I'll say it again - there is nothing that the world can throw at me that Gilbert and Sullivan don't make a whole lot better. Even with the misery of this week's heat wave and resulting chaos fresh in my memory, a dozen bars of The Grand Duke and I am as happy as a clam.

I've been asked who else is in Thespis and the honest truth is I have no idea. I have heard rumours, but that is all - but if those rumours are true I am jolly honoured to be in their company.

In the second act my character has to appear as Bacchus. I have looked up the various depictions of Bacchus. He is usually played by some toned, ripply pretty boy or a big fat old slob - and I fancy I fit into neither category. This means that I will spend the next four months doing many sit ups, or pigging out at Maccas. If our director James has a traditional view of Bacchus in mind, I will be wearing little more than a toga and a bunch of grapes, in which case for the audience's sake, I hope he is contemplating the former. One sight of my tummy hanging out and they will be asking for refunds.

But in all seriousness, James has an uncanny eye for these things. One of the reasons I was so excited by Thespis was because he is directing. He has that knack of making you trust him. I would rather land on my grapes than let him down.