A bit about Patience

Written by W S Gilbert

Composed by Arthur Sullivan

11th - 15th October 2016
The Exeter Barnfield Theatre

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Patience premièred at The Opera Comique, London on  23rd April 1881, moving to
The Savoy Theatre, London on 10th October 1881 running for a total of 578 performances.

A brief synopsis

 

Patience satirizes the ‘æsthetic craze’ of the 1870s and 1880s. This artistic movement was very popular but also
very easy to ridicule and this made Patience a big hit.

 

A group of lovesick maidens believe that they are all in
love with Bunthorne, an æsthetic poet. Bunthorne, on the other hand, is in love with Patience, the local milkmaid. Patience doesn’t understand why everyone around her is
so miserable when they are in love, and on top of that,
she doesn’t like poetry or poets.

 

Then along comes a second poet who feels he is God’s gift to women, but who is also still in love with Patience who was his childhood sweetheart. Add a platoon of Heavy Dragoon Guards who are under the impression that they are engaged to the afore-mentioned lovesick maidens and you have the usual Gilbertian confusions and complications.

Find out more about our previous productions of

PATIENCE

and links to other resources