Coach John Stevens and Head Coach Murray Westren have been mightily pleased with their charges this season A revived tradition marks the coming of summer Penzance was filled with the sound of horns on Sunday 4th May as the revived tradition of Penzance May Horns took place at dusk participants blew horns and made plenty of noise as they made their way from Newlyn to Penzance Their mission was to follow the giant crow and help chase away the devil of winter to welcome the arrival of summer The event brought a historic custom back to life celebrating the changing of the seasons in true Cornish style Photos of the occasion are credited to Penzance Council Take a look below to see moments from this unique tradition: and website in this browser for the next time I comment Follow CornishStuff on Facebook - Like our Facebook page to get the latest news in your feed and join in the discussions in the comments. Click here to give us a like! Follow us on Twitter - For the latest breaking news in Cornwall and the latest stories, click here to follow CornishStuff on X. Follow us on Instagram - We also put the latest news in our Instagram Stories. Click here to follow CornishStuff on Instagram Got A News Story Or Event To Share With Cornwall editor@cornishstuff.com Sign up for the latest daily news in Cornwall from us Privacy Policy – Cookie Policy CornishStuff is owned by and part of Check It Out Ltd © 2024 - 2025 Website Designed in Cornwall by Springer Marketing • All Rights Reserved Visitors lose final four wickets for just 11 runs St Austell 222-7 (50 overs), Penzance 219 (48) ST AUSTELL underlined their title credentials as a dramatic late comeback gave them an opening day victory over champions Penzance at Wheal Eliza. The Saints were struggling in both innings before they showed the type of grit and determination that could see them in the mix come August. After new St Austell captain Alex Bone chose to bat, Tom Dinnis soon reduced the hosts to 44-3 including dismissing Sri Lankan debutant Thevindu Dickwella for a golden duck. Surviving opener Connor Cooke stablised the innings with Bone before Cooke (33) and Mike Bone (1) departed in quick succession (97-5). But a superb 100-run partnership between Bone and brother Gary Bone stabilised the innings. Starting slowly, they took the score to 170-5 with five overs remaining. They then stepped on the gas with 27 coming off the next two before Gary Bone was bowled by left-arm paceman Josh Croom for 58 off 67 balls, an innings than included four fours and two sixes. Alex Bone continued on his merry way, but it was the final over bowled by Tommy Sturgess that proved decisive. Twenty-one came of it as Bone finished 79 not out from 113 deliveries. For Penzance, Dinnis was the pick with 3-41 from ten overs, while Croom (2-35) and player/coach Brad Wadlan (1-31) were both tidy. Penzance would have fancied their chances at tea and got off to a flier as Christian Purchase and Jack Paull brought up the fifty partnership in just the eighth over. But Bone brought on returning left-arm spinner Andrew Libby and the tide turned as he trapped Paull (20) lbw with his fourth delivery. The 13th over had a huge bearing on the game as Ben Sleeman struck twice. He bowled Purchase for 29 before having Brad Wadlan caught by Dan Jarman second ball. But debutants Nic Halstead-Cleak and Charlie Sharland were enjoying themselves and took the score to 138-3 at the halfway stage. With just 85 required the visitors were clear favourites but the Saints’ never-say-die attitude came to the fore. Steve Raven bowled Sharland for 43 from just 42 balls before the huge wicket of Halstead-Cleak, run-out by Alex Bone, turned the tide. It was soon 157-6 when Sturgess’ tough second debut saw him caught by Raven off Gary Bone for a single, but that seemed to all be for nothing when Croom and Grant Stone added 51. At 208-6 with 15 required from the final 31 balls it seemed like a stroll, but back came the Saints again as Croom picked out Liam Watson off Mike Bone for 33 off the final ball of the 45th over. Libby was brought on for the 46th and struck with his final ball to bowl Stone for 26. Eleven were still required with two wickets in-hand as the large crowd gathered to see a thrilling finale. Four singles came off the next over bowled by Sleeman before Adam Snowdon ended the game with the final two deliveries off the 48th as he bowled Jonny Ludlam for five before rearranging Charlie Hearn’s furniture with the next. For St Austell it was a 20 points that will live long in the memory, while for Penzance who have ambitions to win the national competitions this term, it could provide a timely wake-up call. Comments [email protected]Further Links Owned or licensed to Tindle Newspapers Ltd | Independent Family-Owned Newspapers | Copyright & Trade Mark Notice & 2013 - 2025 God might be calling you to become the next Priest in Charge (Oversight Minister) of Penzance four churches that are ready to grow as they reflect their love of Jesus joint heritage and strong relationships through a passionate engagement with the community of a truly wonderful place to live and work collaborative and willing to share our resources We would love to discern with you whether God is calling you to partner with us in the gospel the Archdeacon of Cornwall: archdeacons@truro.anglican.org For more information and to apply please visit the Truro website by clicking the 'apply for this job' button below Part of the process will include a vocational conversation that will take place online between short-listing and the interview The appointment is subject to enhanced disclosure from the DBS Safeguarding - Everyone Matters - Everyone’s Responsibility The Diocese of Truro strives to be trauma informed and is committed to developing safer policies We are seeking an inspiring and compassionate Vicar to lead our parish community in faith (Sidcup Deanery - London Borough of Bexley) and live God’s love in our community" St James and All Saints with Christ Church The Bishop of Gloucester seeks to appoint a priest to serve in this diverse and vibrant benefice This is an exciting time in the life of The Ascension and St Thomas’ in the benefice of Derringham Bank Our Church is excited about what God is doing amongst us and what our future holds We are a newly joined-together group of six parishes with seven beautiful churches in rural mid Somerset We are now seeking a Priest-in-Charge to lead us as we enter this exciting new phase of our church lives together This Benefice lies on the edge of the Quantock hills with the West Somerset Railway running through it It is within easy reach of Taunton and comprises five parishes that are mainly rural though additional housing is being built in one area The Benefice brings together beautiful moorland and the vibrancy of suburban housing development.There is a good selection of local schools colleges and universities within easy reach Benefices of Leigh upon Mendip with Stoke St Michael and Postlebury Stantonbury Ecumenical Partnership Milton Keynes We are a partnership of six diverse and welcoming congregations in the northern districts of Milton Keynes offering a rich tapestry of worshipping tr.. Things you buy through our links may earn Vox Media a commission Then there’s that subtitle, which manages to encapsulate the baffling nature of this adaptation’s ambitions. Everything from the show’s marketing to its opening sequence—in which Gilbert and Sullivan themselves in the persons of David Hyde Pierce and Preston Truman Boyd make a cameo to walk us through what we’re about to see—drives home in no uncertain terms that this Pirates has been transferred from the rocky coasts of Cornwall to the Big Easy It’s been reset in late-1800s New Orleans and aggressively reorchestrated (by Joseph Joubert and Daryl Waters) to incorporate strains of jazz along with plenty of standard Broadway razzmatazz sure — then why call it “The Penzance Musical” The operetta’s location sneaks into the title the way that the operetta itself manages to sneak into the show: seemingly at random and often in stark contrast to the barrage of new material that purports to spring from it some full-fledged Gilbert and Sullivan sparkles through the Ellis and Holmes There it is — the brilliant thing that’s been buried the real source of life and energy underneath all the plumping This isn’t to say that The Pirates of Penzance demands reverence Gilbert and Sullivan were entirely popular entertainers Gilbert’s tongue-twisting lyrics crammed with cheeky satire and Sullivan’s criminally singable tunes incorporating burlesques of classical composers from Verdi to Gounod Keeping such clever adapters of the canon alive with new adaptations is a lively idea The original Pirates—which tells the story of the young apprentice Frederic (here played by Nicholas Barasch) as he attempts to leave the buccaneering life to pursue virtue and love then finds himself snared by wonderfully absurd dilemmas of duty—is a near flawless example of smart-dumb Holmes and Ellis have drained away much of the smart tedious hat tips to contemporary sensibilities and unnecessary lumps of earnest character biography Why does the Pirate King (Ramin Karimloo) now need to be harboring a painful vendetta on behalf of a father who “died while held captive by the British,” except to give us a dutiful reminder of the complex political histories behind the real pirates of New Orleans and the Caribbean one that we’re apt to think about for all of three seconds as Holmes rejiggers practically every line of the character’s swashbuckling anthem (“I Am the Pirate King”) he manages to drain the song of all its actual politics: “My crew are true and loyal to me / And I’m piratical royalty,” sings Karimloo’s king along with other banal lyrics about things like “raiding galleons and running rum.” Here The rousing shanty is already a knowing commentary on class and hypocrisy it cannot be,” says the original pirate king when his apprentice urges him to give up the sword for “civilization.” “I don’t think much of our profession is more keen humor than can be found in most of Ellis’s production Gilbert and Sullivan take roles in their own show with Pierce’s Gilbert as “the very model of a modern Major-General.”) This General Stanley always seems just a bit surprised whether it’s to find himself capable of rhyming “more wary at” with “commissariat” or simply to be on stage in the first place Holmes and Ellis interpolate a few songs from other Gilbert and Sullivan operettas but most are rendered into duds and Pierce’s moments again prove the exception gets her hilariously over-the-top duet (“Oh you have deceiv’d me”) axed in the first act only to be compensated with a particularly cringey version of The Mikado’s “Alone and Yet Alive” in the second — but Pierce makes genuinely delightful work of “The Nightmare Song,” its fretful patter borrowed from Iolanthe to relaunch the show after intermission that Ellis and Holmes either start to lose steam as adapters or perhaps to place more trust in their source material For a while—as General Stanley grapples with a troubled conscience and as Frederic and his true love Mabel (Samantha Williams) attempt to rouse the timorous local police against the pirates—the production’s own interventions become less heavy-handed and the tunefulness and cleverness of its inspiration are able to shine through lightbulb-decked mini-proscenium that flies into the center of David Rockwell’s picture-book set and the Pirate King called “A Paradox” still conveys all its joyful inanity the ensemble delivers Chaplin–esque buffoonery in Carlyle’s tap choreo for “When the Foeman Bares His Steel” (though Boyd minimally musically retooled “With Cat-Like Tread” succeeds in shaking the roof It also reveals that the reorchestration by Joubert and Walters sits at the heart of Pirates!’s miscalculations In an attempt to loosen up Sullivan’s music and infuse it with diverse Americana they’ve flubbed nearly every tempo and tone Songs that should blaze by are sluggish while tunes that should pine and linger are sped through Not only does it move the whole score toward a homogenizing middle pace; it also betrays an undermining sense of doubt: Oh let’s slow them down so the audience gets them let’s speed it up so the audience won’t be bored the show’s team is missing the point and making up their own which might not grate as much if the substitution weren’t so flimsy But solid timber has been swapped for balsa wood and nowhere is it more apparent than in the rewritten finale to Act One thou heav’n-born maid!” sings the ensemble at glorious fortissimo in Gilbert and Sullivan’s operetta — and while this thunderous chorus might at first seem hilariously out of the blue it is in fact the heart of the entire project is life / Without a touch of Poetry in it?” intones the Pirate King thou precious flame!” sings Ellis’s ensemble Nebulous American buzzwords replace transcendance content to toss plastic beads in place of pearls The Penzance Musical is at the Todd Haimes Theatre through July 27 Already a subscriber? Sign in By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us Password must be at least 8 characters and contain: you’ll receive occasional updates and offers from New York Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon The best of New York straight to your inbox We help you navigate a myriad of possibilities Sign up for our newsletter for the best of the city By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news Sign up for our email to enjoy New York without spending a thing (as well as some options when you’re feeling flush) Our newsletter hand-delivers the best bits to your inbox Sign up to unlock our digital magazines and also receive the latest news By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions. New York This show is of a kind that I shall dub an operettical: A British-Broadway hybrid that is cleverly synthetical.It starts with operetta of the comical varietyThat Sullivan and Gilbert wrote to tickle high society.The Pirates of Penzance a pageant witty and Victorian, Premiered in 1880 on our calendar Gregorian. It still is entertaining but perhaps not in a date-night way; It seems a bit too fusty for revival on the Great White Way So Rupert Holmes has come along to pump some Broadway jazz in it:To add a little spice and put some Dixieland pizzazz in it.And thanks to these injections neither rev’rent nor heretical,We now have Holmes’s model for a modern operettical.  The Penzance Musical | Photograph: Courtesy Joan Marcus With silliness and energy the show is chockablock well-set Amid the brightly colored NOLA streets of David Rockwell’s set. And now that we have looked at questions musico-aesthetical, We move on to the plot of this diverting operettical The Pirate King swashbuckles on a large if not momentous ship Where Frederic is ending his apprenticeship.And when this duty-driven laddie reaches his majorityHis conscience will demand that he accept the law’s authority.  Upon that time though he may feel a loss acute,His former pals he will have to fight and prosecute.  (Unless some hitherto-undreamed-of technicality Should come to light and complicate his noble plan’s legality.)  the sorely misbegotten Ruth,Discovers in some document an old and long-forgotten truth? It might if this scenario’s not strictly theoretical, Entail a major conflict in this model operettical The Drag Race legend Jinkx Monsoon, in blowsy eccentricity, Brings Ruth to life with vocal chops and facial elasticity. Performances italicized (and not just parenthetical) Combine to lift the spirits of this lively operettical.  Samantha Williams makes a lusty Mabel; Preston Truman BoydDelivers his tap-dancing like an ably-programmed humanoid. But David Hyde Pierce steals the show I say with no cajolery.His Major-Gen’ral is a master class in brilliant drollery: A rapid-patter songster with aplomb matched by no other’s style(And daughters pirates yearn for, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers–style).In glorious precision Pierce elicits every gazer’s smiles As lovably and nimbly as he did when he played Frasier’s Niles brah,And shake it like a necklace made of gaudy beads at Mardi Gras.Enjoy this Broadway hybrid that is tuneful and poetical:A most delightful model of a modern operettical.  Pirates! The Penzance Musical. Todd Haimes Theatre (Broadway) but they wereThe best that I could do—and face it standards are not what they were. I’m just a humble swimmer in this lyrical aquarium; If W.S Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon! tiktokfacebooktwitteryoutubeAbout us Contact us The almost 14-hour journey will stop running from 16 May I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The UK’s longest direct train journey has been axed after more than 100 years of service CrossCountry, the operator of the railway route, confirmed that the journey from Aberdeen to Penzance has been cancelled as part of route changes from May 2025 The 774-mile journey connecting Scotland and the Cornish coast currently takes around 13 hours and 20 minutes to travel the 8.20am Aberdeen service heads south through York Taunton and Truro on its way past some of the best of British landscapes travellers will spend a total of two hours stationary as passengers get on and off at each station before arriving in Penzance at 9.31pm The long-distance passenger train operator confirmed its timetable changes for 2025 last week as part of the rail network’s twice-yearly timetable reviews with the last direct leg from Aberdeen to Penzance scheduled to depart on 16 May An advance single ticket in a standard class cabin from CrossCountry starts at £138.60 per adult on 16 May it’s a touch sad that the longest direct train in the UK is being curtailed – but the number of people who actually travelled the 13-and-a-bit hours from northeast Scotland to southwest England was minuscule the main line through Cornwall from Plymouth to Penzance will remain well served and if the CrossCountry core is better served due to the redeployment of rolling stock and staff The service will now run an 11-hour and 30-minute journey from Aberdeen only as far south as Plymouth – 80 miles shorter – with connecting trains on the main line through Cornwall A CrossCountry spokesperson told The Independent: “Amending our Aberdeen to Penzance service from May 2025 will mean a more efficient timetable for our train crews and a more convenient service for our customers making a day trip from Bristol and the west of England to Penzance more viable The new timetable will also deliver an additional service in each direction between Glasgow and the North East of England towards Birmingham.” During the pandemic the Aberdeen to Penzance route terminated at Plymouth with the full route reinstated in May 2023 “As an ‘express’ it is severely challenged partly due to the long waits at a number of stations along the way – including 14 minutes at both Edinburgh Waverley and Bristol Temple Meads and seven minutes at each of Birmingham New Street and Exeter St Davids,” said Mr Calder National Rail Enquiries recommends any Aberdonian in a hurry to reach the end of the line in Cornwall should abandon the direct train at Haymarket and change again in Devon to get to Penzance by sunset.” As it is the end of the line for the Aberdeen to Penzance route, the UK's longest direct service will now be the Caledonian Sleeper's overnight train from London Euston to Fort William – approximately 12 hours and 45 minutes For more travel news and advice, listen to Simon Calder’s podcast Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies and Jinkx Monsoon star in the heavily revised Broadway revival from Roundabout Theatre Company Zachary Stewart That real historical fact provides the inspiration for Pirates! The Penzance Musical a new adaptation by Rupert Holmes (The Mystery of Edwin Drood) that imagines the New Orleans leg of a national tour led by Gilbert and Sullivan themselves for which they had the stamina to rearrange large sections of the score as Dixieland jazz This delightfully anachronistic concept offers the opportunity for cultural alchemy, blending styles and sensibilities across time and borders to create musical comedy bliss. This has been done successfully with Gilbert and Sullivan before this attempt is thwarted by a one-two punch of timidity and smarm At the top we are greeted by Gilbert (David Hyde Pierce) and Sullivan (Preston Truman Boyd) who set the stage for what we’re about to witness A city with a colorful history of transplants New Orleans is the ideal spot for Frederic (Nicholas Barasch in excellent voice) to retire from the trade when he will be released from his apprenticeship to the Pirate King (Ramin Karimloo appropriately dashing and absolutely drenched in sweat) was supposed to hook him up with a respectable tugboat pilot Frederic is a slave of duty so he dutifully informs his pirate brethren that He’s much less enthusiastic about holding up his promise to marry Ruth daughters of the highly promiscuous Major-General Stanley (Pierce playing Gilbert playing this most famous role) Frederic falls for Mabel (a receding Samantha Williams) and they look forward to happily ever after This is explicitly why Holmes and his collaborators (director Scott Ellis and music director Joseph Joubert) have decided to close Act 1 with the opener from Pinafore rechristened here “The ‘Sail the Ocean’ Blues.” It’s the most joyous song of the show, with Monsoon especially shining as she takes up a tambourine to channel Lucille Ball the whole cast joins in playing washboards a sound that is even more satisfying than a battalion of tap shoes (fabulously fun orchestrations by Joubert and Daryl Waters) but it doesn’t really achieve its stated goal of leaving us in suspense a task more easily performed by Monsoon running across stage shouting “I’ve just remembered something that will throw all our lives into a state of upheaval!” and Yet Alive” from The Mikado as a solo for Ruth grinds the story to a halt and seems to be more the work of a zealous agent than a fastidious dramaturg The creators tell us that they will retrofit this operetta into a new musical G&S purists will be relieved to learn that “I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General” is mostly untouched rattling off this difficult patter song in a breezy and Pierce easily captures the dry wit Gilbert intended but it’s hard not to feel like he’s been dropped in from an entirely different production It’s cringe-inducing, but not nearly as much as the finale, another import from Pinafore that reimagines the tongue-in-cheek patriotism of “He Is an Englishman” as a celebration of immigration titled “We’re All From Someplace Else,” which makes no sense as nativism is only introduced as a source of conflict in the preceding few lines. Rather than a slave of duty, Pirates! is the servant of too many masters: Gilbert & Sullivan, Dixieland jazz, milquetoast liberalism, and the tourism lobby New Orleans & Company, which “kindly sponsored” this production. The recipe is for a jambalaya of disparate flavors that come together in delicious harmony. The finished product is operetta as political compromise, in which everyone gets a little taste of what they want, but never enough to be truly satisfied. The musical opens at the Imperial Theatre on April 10. Get the best deals and latest updates on theater and shows by signing up for TheaterMania's newsletter today! Notifications can be managed in browser preferences. IndependentLightDark{"modes":[{"id":"light","name":"Light","value":"#ffffff"},{"id":"dark","name":"Dark","value":"#000000"}]}Menu{"children":"Menu"}Thank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in CrossCountry’s network stretches from Aberdeen in the north-east of Scotland to Penzance in western Cornwall via Birmingham (Andrew Matthews/PA) One man dead after explosion rocks block of flats Detectives are investigating a fatal incident following a suspected gas explosion at a block of flats in Penzance Emergency services were called to Pendennis Place at around 3.10pm on Wednesday 23rd April after reports of an explosion were heard in the area was taken to Derriford Hospital with serious injuries A number of residents from neighbouring flats were evacuated and provided with alternative accommodation while investigation work took place A scene guard was in place during this time but has since been removed Police have confirmed that there is no wider threat to the public “We’d like to thank the public for their understanding as work has taken place to investigate the cause of the explosion.” No further details have been released by Devon and Cornwall Police at this stage ‘A gloriously joyful affirmation of everything that’s enjoyable about theatre’ ★★★★ ½  This is the third time I’ve seen this show and it just goes on getting better despite only one cast member (David McKecknie) having done it before the material in Gilbert and Sullivan operas is so strong that it bounces back whatever you do it – as Sasha Regan understands better would have thought of an all male cast but for 2024 it’s a gloriously joyful affirmation of everything that’s enjoyable about theatre The opening white clad male chorus suggests a Victorian gymnasium and is very muscular Lizzi Gee’s choreography is one of this production’s great strengths as the cast leap about and form arresting tableaux the principals emerge: Robert Wilkes as Ruth pegging out washing with incongruous asides as she explains in song how Frederic (Cameron McAllister) came to be an apprentice pirate but there’s rich pathos there too When we get to the Major General’s daughter’s daring to paddle on the beach the cast are simpering enjoying innuendoes and never still which is one of the many things which makes this show so electrifying Eventually the posse of daughters is reduced to a plausible five including delicious Mabel (Luke Garner-Greene Tom Newland gives us an engaging and attractive Pirate King but he’s young for the role and there isn’t (yet?) enough bass timbre in his voice although he hits every note Lewis Kennedy is splendid as the Chief of Police – a gift of a part – although it’s not easy to make it feel original given how well “A Policeman’s Lot is Not a Happy One” is known when the policemen are singing from the stage right aisle next to the audience which makes it feel nicely immersive,  it’s the ensemble work which makes this show zing I often comment on slickness but this lot take it to another level And watch out for Boaz Chad who drew my attention every moment he was on stage with his evocative body work and talkative eyes Regan De Wynter Williams Productions present THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE at Wilton's Music Hall Tuesday 29 October to Saturday 23 November Box Office https://wiltons.org.uk/whats-on/the-pirates-of-penzance-autumn24/  Recent West End credits include Back to the Future (Ensemble/cover George McFly) Roles in training include Charley Kringas in Merrily We Roll Along He returns to Wilton’s Music Hall and the company after playing the title role in Sasha Regan’s All-Male The Mikado in 2023 Recent credits include Standing At The Sky’s Edge (Sheffield Crucible/National Theatre/Gillian Lynne Theatre) The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado (Sasha Regan productions) A rcecent graduate of the Royal Academy of Music Roles during training include The Baker in Into The Woods and Charles Guiteau in Assassins Recent roles include Gus and covered and played Old Deuteronomy in Cats Chitty Chitty Bank Bang (West Yorkshire Playhouse/UK tour) What's on Reviews Articles Theatre News Pub theatre profiles Getting into Theatre SO Award Nominations LPT Award Winners LPT Awards 2022 in pictures Subscribe to Newsletter Advertise with us Getting into theatre Our Team Request a reviewer Contact We are very proud to announce that LONDON PUB THEATRES MAGAZINE is now an OFFIE AWARD WINNING publication A ONEOFF Special Award (February 2024) has been awarded to London Pub Theatres Magazine and Editor Heather Jeffery for providing a vital forum for highlighting the excellent work that happens in rooms in pubs, with sensitive editing, and an acute sense of the importance of tiny fringe venues to the health and development of British Theatre London pub theatres magazine is published in Rickmansworth by London Pub Theatres Magazine Ltd  ISSN 2977-6724