Ruddigore

Godalming Operatic Society presents Gilbert & Sullivan's 'Ruddigore'.

The Archers, set in the village of Ambridge and broadcast since January 1951, was initially described as an every-day story of countryfolk. However, long before that in 1887, the Cornish fishing village of Rederring was created in the wonderful imaginings of W S Gilbert, an anything but every-day ordinary village.

The local squire and his noble family of Murgatroyd are torn apart by a witchs curse; there is a unique business winding up for lack of customers (times dont change); a frightened villager living under an assumed name; a mad woman living alone in the woods; and last but not least, a castle full of ghosts who come back to torment the current holder of the title of Baronet of Ruddigore. Not the usual sort of ancestors you might find amongst your family but then this is a Gilbert & Sullivan village!

With lots of drama and laughter along the way, the story unfolds with many twists and turns, but will it have the inevitable happy ending? And what's he connection with Basingstoke? Sullivan's wonderful music will take you through all sorts of emotions as we move to the famous ghostly scene in Act 2. You may not be familiar with this opera - but it is certainly one not to be missed.