Paper Machete: Victorian vulgarity and The Hypocrites of Penzance
By Christopher PiattPaper Machete: Victorian vulgarity and The Hypocrites of Penzance
By Christopher Piatt
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(Photo courtesy of the-hypocrites.com)
Last weekend at The Paper Machete, we talked about the culture of theater in Victorian London. The gaslit auditoriums were hardly ideal for the performers: the sounds, the smells, and the audience made it nigh impossible for artists to accomplish something resembling art.
Yet out of this same culture, came the famous W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan and their novel light operas. After we discussed their impact on theater(as well as their business practices), the Hypocrites dropped by to perform a few songs from their recent production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Pirates of Penzance.”