The Pirates of Penzance

Operetta by Arthur Sullivan and W. S. Gilbert

New version of the dialogues by Jennifer Gisela Weiss

In German and English with German and English surtitles

In the 19th century, Penzance was one of the most idyllic and tranquil towns of the British Isles. Pirates... here?! The kings of English operetta, the author duo Gilbert & Sullivan, managed to humorously subvert the expectations of their audience. With this satirical-subversive "recipe," they created hit after hit.

The rather crude story of The Pirates of Penzance would have done justice to British humor à la Monty Python even in the 19th century: A young man is not trained to be a pilot but is instead apprenticed to the pirates of Penzance because his hard-of-hearing governess confused "pilot" and "pirate." Upon reaching his 21st birthday, Frederic would have completed his apprenticeship, if he hadn't been born in a leap year! According to pirate logic, he is therefore only five years old... From this existential dilemma unfolds a love story between the pirate apprentice and Mabel, a young lady of British military nobility. Nothing could happen without the Queen in Gilbert & Sullivan's works, and so Victoria, as regina ex machina, will bring everything to a happy ending in the end.

The physical comedy duo Spymonkey has achieved a hit with Orpheus in the Underworld at the Volksoper, winning over both audiences and critics. With The Pirates of Penzance, they are dedicating themselves to the most British of all operettas!