In HMS Pinafore, Gilbert's gift for comedy lyrics, situations and characters is brilliantly matched by the infectious joy of Sir Arthur Sullivan's witty, light-hearted musical numbers in this delightful nautical comedy.

With characters that might have tumbled from a Dickens novel, HMS Pinafore is a tongue-in-cheek look at love between social classes in the nineteenth century, and the rise of under-qualified politicians to positions of authority. Gaily tripping through the hypocrisies of the English class system, it revels in the hilariously embarrassing secrets of the middle classes.

John Savident (Coronation Street, National Theatre) leads the Carl Rosa Opera Company in this hilarious nautical tale of love, hypocrisy and mistaken identity, which all unravels when the Captain's daughter falls secretly in love with a common sailor. For anyone aged 8 to 108, an evening, or afternoon, aboard HMS Pinafore, gently bobbing on the Portsmouth tide, promises endless smiles, tapping feet and plenty of belly laughs as the musical score dances to its happy but topsy-turvy conclusion. Pure rumbustious joy you'd be madder than a March hare to miss it!