A Brand New and Original Nautical Operetta by Fraser Charlton

Songs based on those by Gilbert & Sullivan

The long-awaited sequel to H.M.S. Pinafore! Reprimanding Captain Rackstraw for encouraging too much equality, Sir Joseph refuses to shake Edward Corcoran's hand at his wedding to Little Buttercup. Edward punches him and is condemned to hang, provoking a mutiny and leading to the revelation of a long-held secret...

Bringing together the familiar characters in a new story based on the Bab Ballads, this show finally explains how Edward Corcoran rises from the rank of Able Seamen at the end of Pinafore to the rank of Captain in Utopia Ltd.! Mixing familiar and unfamiliar songs, this show has proved to be a big hit with audiences.

Download the full script of Mutiny on the Pinafore (MS Word format). The character of the Bo'sun is written in Geordie dialect - a standard English version is also available, if required!

SYNOPSIS

Dramatis Personae

  • Dick Deadeye (Able Seaman) - BASS
  • Edward Corcoran (Able Seaman) - BARITONE
  • Mrs. Cripps (Little Buttercup) (Bumboat Woman) - MEZZO-SOPRANO
  • Captain Ralph Rackstraw (Commanding H.M.S. Pinafore) - TENOR
  • Josephine (Edwardís daughter; betrothed to Ralph) - SOPRANO
  • The Rt. Hon. Sir Joseph Porter, K.C.B. (First Lord of the Admiralty) - BARITONE
  • Lady Hebe Porter (his Wife) - CONTRALTO
  • Beth Becket - SOPRANO
  • Dickette Deadeye - NON SINGING
Chorus of SAILORS, MARINES, WIVES, and GIRLFRIENDS.

ACT I. - The Quarter-Deck of H.M.S. Pinafore, three months after the events in the opera H.M.S. Pinafore. Noon.

The crew of the Pinafore are delighted with the relaxed regime of their new commander, Captain Ralph Rackstraw. They have just returned to Portsmouth after an accidental trip to Jamaica and, consequently, neither Ralph nor Edward Corcoran have yet married. The ship docks and Edward is united with his Buttercup; they decide to be married by Ralph that afternoon. The women's arrival is followed by the entrance of Sir Joseph Porter and his wife, Lady Hebe. They are shocked at the slovenly ill-discipline of the crew, and warn Ralph to change his ways.

The wedding of Edward and Buttercup takes place. Sir Joseph, conscious of the new discrepancy in their ranks, refuses to shake Edward's hand to congratulate him on his wedding. Incensed, Edward strikes him to the ground and is dragged off to the dungeon.

ACT II. - The same, the following evening.

Ralph has taken Sir Joseph's lesson to heart and has become a ruthless martinet, much to the distress of the crew. Buttercup hides on board-ship to meet Edward on his evening exercise, only to be told that he is to be hanged for assaulting a senior officer. She departs in tears.

With the encouragement of Sir Joseph and Hebe, Ralph announces to Josephine that the gap in their positions to too great to allow them to marry, and breaks off their engagement. She departs in tears.

The morning of Edward's execution arrives. However, before he can be hanged, a mutiny breaks out. Ralph is forced to relinquish command, and hands it back to Edward. Sir Joseph is captured and forced to walk the plank with his wife. Unable to contain himself any longer, Sir Joseph confesses his long-held secret: when he was a baby his mother took in another baby to wet-nurse it. Joseph was so jealous that he changed places with the other baby and was raised by its parents. Sir Joseph's original name was, of course, Corcoran.

And so Able Seaman Edward Corcoran becomes Captain Sir Edward Corcoran, K.C.B., ready for his visit to the island of Utopia 16 years later, and all ends happily - even for Dick Deadeye!

2 Acts. Duration: 100 mins (excluding interval)
Principals: 12 - 2 Sopranos, 1 Mezzo, 1 Contralto, 1 Tenor, 3 Baritone, 1 Bass, 3 Non-singing + Chorus.

ORDER OF MUSIC

ACT ONE

OVERTURE
1. OPENING CHORUS - "We sail the ocean blue" (H.M.S. Pinafore)
2. SONG - "I once was Captain of this crew" (The Mikado) - EDWARD
3. SONG - "Let a satirist enumerate a catalogue of crimes" (The Rose of Persia) - DICK
4. ARIA - "Oh, happy young heart!" (The Sorcerer) - JOSEPHINE
5. DUET - "None shall part us" (Iolanthe) - RALPH & JOSEPHINE
6. SCENA - "When a ship returns to dock" (The Gondoliers) - BUTTERCUP & BETH
7. DUET - "I know a youth" (Ruddigore) - BETH & BILL
8. a. CHORUS & DUET - "Behold the First Lord of the Adm'ralty" SIR JOSEPH & HEBE
b. SONG - "I am the very model of a modern Cabinet Minister" (The Pirates of Penzance) - SIR JOSEPH
9. SONG - "There lived a King" (The Gondoliers) - HEBE
10. QUINTET - "Try we lifelong" (The Gondoliers) - SIR JOSEPH, HEBE, JOSEPHINE, RALPH & DICK
11. FINALE ACT ONE
a. CHORUS - "Comes the couple newly plighted" (Trial by Jury)
b. SONG - "Ladies and gentlemen" (The Zoo) - BILL & CHORUS
c. RECIT. - "What is this dreadful noise" (H.M.S. Pinafore) - SIR JOSEPH, EDWARD & CHORUS
d. SONG - "You're a snob, sir" (Iolanthe) - EDWARD, HEBE, JOSEPHINE & CHORUS
e. ENSEMBLE - "Corcoran, your funeral bell you rang" (Patience)

ACT TWO

1. CHORUS - "The Captain's turned into an autocrat" (Iolanthe)
2. SONG - "Oh, a Captain who boasts intellectual graces" (The Grand Duke) - DICK
3. BALLAD - "There grew a little flower" (Ruddigore) - BUTTERCUP & EDWARD
4. SONG - "I've heard it said" (Haddon Hall) - EDWARD
5. DUET - "When Eve wed Adam 'neath the Tree" (The Grand Duke) - HEBE & SIR JOSEPH
6. TRIO - "Alas! I waver to and fro!" (The Yeomen of the Guard) - BUTTERCUP, BETH & BILL
7. CHORUS & SOLO "The prisoner comes" (The Yeomen of the Guard) - JOSEPHINE
8. a. RECIT. - "Ralph Rackstraw!" BUTTERCUP & RALPH
b. SONG - "Oh, everyone, listen, I pray" (Trial by Jury) - RALPH
9. a. RECIT. - "Hush, hush, not a word!" (The Pirates of Penzance) - BETH & SIR JOSEPH
b. TRIO - "Well, you're a pretty kind of fellow" (The Grand Duke) - EDWARD, BUTTERCUP & JOSEPHINE
10. SONG - "When I was born, at an early age" (H.M.S. Pinafore) - SIR JOSEPH
11. FINALE ACT TWO - "Oh joy, oh rapture unforeseen" (H.M.S. Pinafore)

PRODUCTIONS

  • 16th-17th June 1995, NUGSS, Newcastle upon Tyne.
  • 28th October-7th November 1998 (14 performances), Hastings Operatic Society, New Zealand.
  • 17th-18th November 2006 (2 performances), Gosforth Trinity Musical Society, Newcastle upon Tyne.
  • 26th-28th August and 2nd-4rd September 2011 (7 performances), South Australia Light Opera Society, Adelaide, Australia.
  • 21st-22nd June 2019 (2 performances), Astwood Bank Operatic Society, Worcestershite, England.

POSTERS AND PROGRAMMES

Information about producing 'Mutiny on the Pinafore'

If you are interested in producing this show, please contact fraser.charlton@ncl.ac.uk: I have piano-vocal scores and production videos available for all of my shows. I don't charge any royalties for performances - simply a copy of all promotional material, a video/DVD of your production and any reviews you get!