Review: You'll be walking the plank if you miss Hayes' THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE

Friday 15th May, 7pm 2026 The Factory, Lyric theatre

Hayes Theatre Co is an Australian theatrical force that continues to hit the bullseye. Their acclaimed production PIRATES OF PENZANCE is restaged at The Factory Theatre — Hayes' first, and I'd bet not last, venture at this relatively new venue. We all want more of Hayes and its repertoire.

Still engagingly and thoroughly entertaining, PIRATES OF PENZANCE is over 100 years old, a testament to Gilbert and Sullivan's musical expertise and clever insight into the foibles and absurdity of society and the souls that live therein.

This masterful work has had many interpretations since its first production in 1879. With this incarnation, Directors Richard Carroll and Victoria Falconer emphasis the absurd comedy and farce, with added social satire on bureaucracy, privilege and current global events. Carroll and Falconer obviously love the anarchic rebellion wrapped in cheerful music.

Our hero, Frederic (Maxwell Simon), having just turned 21, is released from his apprenticeship to a band of unconventional pirates led by The Pirate King (Jay Laga'aia). He promptly falls in love with Mabel (Brittanie Shipway), one of the many daughters of the bumbling Major-General Stanley (Jonathon Holmes). But his happiness is short-lived: Frederic was born on February 29th, meaning he only has a real birthday once every leap year — and his indenture binds him until his twenty-first birthday, not his twenty-first year. He owes the pirates another 63 years of service. Duty-bound to honour this technicality, he returns to the fold, consoled only by Mabel's promise to wait faithfully. It is Ruth, the pirates' maid-of-all-work, who eventually reveals the fact that unravels everything and sets things right.

This extraordinary ensemble of five with original cast members Jay Laga'aia, Shipway and Simon and joined by new recruits Sarah Murr and Tana Laga'aia — who also excel across various roles.

The chemistry with this team of actors is the perfect formula for this gleefully absurd panto-come-farce. Each performer brings the triple threat of voice, movement and dramatics, with expert comic timing to match.

Jay Laga'aia holds the stage with gusto as the Pirate King — commanding presence, matching vocals, and utterly engaging. Shipway is a marvel in dual roles: gloriously vaudevillian as the conniving Dame Ruth, then equally divine as the tender-hearted ingénue Mabel, her phenomenal operatic vocals soaring through both performances. Simon endears with a powerful voice and a winning mix of pop-star stature and boyish naivety. Holmes' dexterity of talent is limitless. His pompous, easily flustered Major-General is intoxicating — a wonder to behold, especially in his newly worded 'I am the Model of a Modern Major-General.'

A shout out to the marvellous musical direction. Daniel Herten's sound design picks up the playful, zany and passionate energy of the production to deliver the perfect musical soundscape. Nick Fry's audacious, cheeky and delightful set design fits The Factory and this staging like a glove. Jasmine Rizk's lighting design gloriously accents the various moods and locations, keeping pace with the snappy quick-change setups. Likewise Lily Mateljan's costumes are subtly and beautifully tailored to the shenanigans and cheeky visuals, keeping up with the constant change of attire — no small feat for a cast of five pulling off remarkable character transformations in the many roles they execute.

This ensemble is buoyant, effervescent, infectious. But besides the superb voices, clever nuances and tight direction that’s delivered with tongue-in-cheek expertise, it is the cast's joy and generosity of heart that is the key element of this work. You revel in their joy of performing, and their desire to spread that joy to you.

Gilbert and Sullivan's timeless work is a masterpiece. Every element of this operatic work, transforms into a contemporary musical that fits squarely in today's world. This production is a cheeky adaptation where the jokes land, the music soars and has the social commentary that resonates with the audience.

Ship Ahoy the Masterful HMS Hayes and THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE. A bountiful night of shenanigans, merriment, and joy.

Production photos (c) John McRae

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