LPOS Musical Productions celebrate 70 years of amateur theatre with a special birthday party performance of ‘Patience’

If you thought that influencer culture and the fickleness of fame were modern issues, think again! Patience may have been first performed in 1881, but it remains as funny and as relevant as ever, touching on such topical themes as celebrity-driven fashions, attitudes to women ageing, and how quickly someone can change from a household name to a has-been.

This classic satire will be brought to the Windmill Entertainment Centre on Saturday 21 June by LPOS Musical Productions. Known for most of its life as Littlehampton Players Operatic Society, LPOS was founded in 1955, born out of a desire to expand performing opportunities in the town and particularly to showcase the satirical works of Gilbert and Sullivan. Patience was LPOS’ first full production – and, to mark their 70th anniversary, the company’s current cast and crew are bringing it back to the stage once more, in a colourful updated version set in Littlehampton’s own Mewsbrook Park.

Among the characters are a pair of pretentious poets, a chorus of young women swooning over their idols, and disgruntled soldiers who were once flavour of the month but have found to their dismay that men in uniform are no longer the 'in thing'. Add to this an innocent milkmaid who has never been in love, a dubious solicitor, and a lovesick nun, and the stage is set for chaos, laughter, unforgettable songs, and some decidedly dodgy poetry.

Before the show, ticket-holders are invited to join LPOS from 2.30pm for a special birthday party celebration where they can browse programmes and photographs from past productions, share stories with company members old and new, and enjoy tea and cake with the cast before they see them on stage. The production itself begins at 4pm; tickets just for the show, and just for the celebration, are also available.

David Martin, Vice-Chair of LPOS and Director of Patience, said: ‘Patience is one of my favourite Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. It has some lovely music and crazy characters. Gilbert wrote the libretto as a satirical lampooning of the aesthetic movement of the 1880s – so, how to update and make it more relevant and celebrate our 70th anniversary?’

‘Well, set it in Littlehampton, more specifically the beautiful and treasured Mewsbrook Park! This miniature train of thought was triggered, in part, during lockdown late-night walks around the boating lake and also during a post-op stay in the local Convalescence Home. In Park life, as Britpop songsters Blur once observed, “all the people so many people” do many strange things, whether that’s exercising, painting, drawing, dodging ducks in a fiberglass dragon, or even writing poetry.’

‘This is a sort of semi-staged, one-off concert performance, so the dialogue has been condensed into a three-part conversation between three ladies “doing coffee”. You can expect a lot of W S Gilbert’s fabulous work to be the main core of the script, however there are some additional references to the Littlehampton locality, and a bit of nonsense – in the Wise words of Ernie – “what I wrote”. As LPOS began as a society with a of love G&S, I have decided to reference each of their other shows in some way as a tribute to the society, and to tip my hat affectionately to the original wordsmith! Hopefully this will trigger happy memories for those of the audiences who have listened to or acted in Thespis, Trial By Jury, HMS Pinafore, Patience, The Mikado, The Pirates of Penzance, Ruddigore, The Gondoliers, The Grand Duke, Princess Ida, The Yeomen of the Guard, or Utopia Ltd.’

‘It is a farcical romp exploring the fickle nature of human behaviour, changing fads, trends, and fashions, vanity and vulnerability, and the “Bitter Sweet Symphony” that is love. I have had so much fun putting this together, and I hope you enjoy it, warts and all.’

Patience is the second production in LPOS’ 70th anniversary programme, which kicked off in April with a vibrant and enthusiastically received run of Little Shop of Horrors, and will continue this autumn with the heartwarming and ever-popular musical Hello, Dolly!, which will be at the Windmill Entertainment Centre from 15-18 October.

See www.lpos.org for more details of these and other upcoming events – and for information about how to get involved with the company yourself. LPOS emphasises a warm, inclusive atmosphere, aiming to give people from all backgrounds and of all levels of ability and experience a chance to participate in theatrical productions, whether onstage, backstage, or in a creative role. Open to anyone aged 16 and over, membership fees are kept deliberately low at £30 per annum in order to make these opportunities more accessible. If you are interested in joining this fun, friendly group, please email [email protected].

Tickets to Patience and to LPOS’ birthday party celebrations are available from www.ticketsource.co.uk/lpos.