Why was ENO’s Yeoman of the Guard so boring?

Gilbert and Sullivan were fighting when they wrote Yeoman of the Guard. Sullivan wanted to compose a serious opera. Gilbert wanted to continue their successful brand—writing biting parody of Victorian society against the beauty of late-nineteenth century scores. In the end, Gilbert gave in to Sullivan. The result is their most serious opera.

Hefty source material partly explains Jo Davies’ limp new production. Even with a story about the impending execution of a political prisoner at the Tower of London, Anthony Ward’s gloomy and claustrophobic set design is too literal. I feel restless and trapped in the wrought-iron set and long shadows.

This overly dark interpretation of an overly serious libretto leave little room for Gilbert & Sullivan’s trademark humour. Unforgivably, the show fails to bring the audience in on the jokes that do exist in the libretto. The performances are timid and underdone. Key beats in the plot—misinterpreted orders and obvious disguises—fail to land. The night’s biggest laughs are in response to tap dancing royal guards, in the background of the show. 

Otherwise, the audience was mostly silent on opening night.  After a few strained Brexit jokes,  Richard McCabe’s Jack Point, meant to be comic relief, quipped, “This is going very well, isn’t it?” before exiting. Suffice to say, this show wasn’t funny.

It’s a shame as the production started strong. During the overture, a grainy projector flashes vintage BBC news reels. This plants us in the post-war, early days of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign and draws parallels to familiar headlines—rail strikes and a revolving door of Parliamentary leadership. This is GIlbert-style satire at its best. Besides a few costume references, like the late Queen’s insignia on the beefeaters, the production fails to identify itself with the 1950s, Gilbert & Sullivan’s own Victorian age, or the original setting in Elizabeth I’s London. This clever point-of-view quickly fizzles out.

If you do go, you’re in for a musical treat. Yeoman has some of Sullivan’s most beautiful writing. The chorus delivers full and rich performances that pleasantly present Sullivan’s 4-part choral harmonies and 3-part trios. Alexandra Oomens’s Elsie Maynard and Anthony Gregory’s Colonel Fairfax offer standout vocals with resonant vibrato perfectly suited to Sullivan’s melodies. Unfortunately, these enjoyable vocal performances fail to fill a mostly empty, dimly lit stage. I yawned in some of the most beautiful arias.

The finale is colourful and joyous. A blue sky is set against a Tower of London miniature. The chorus emerges in its full beefeater glory. It’s camp, but it’s still not funny.

Just as the show itself was written in a disagreement, Davies production has competing ideas that make this Yeoman of the Guard feel like it’s fighting with itself. Leaving the theatre, all I wanted was to laugh. 

All photos by Tristram Kenton as part of English National Opera Press Pack.