If You Go In - Dennis Olsen, Graeme Ewer & Ronald Maconaghie

From "Iolanthe," The Australian Opera, Sydney Opera House, 1980

[@mrscpc1918]

I have very severe trauma and mental illness and truely nothing in 50 years has helped like watching these people!

[@Richard-qw5mu]

In 1966 I played Strephon in a high school G&S performance of Iolanthe. Still remember the songs and in this song, "scrape scrape" was the director's call on our foot movement. Met my first girlfriend on the set...what wonderful memories for this now 75yr old.

[@richardallen3810]

If this doesn't put a smile on your face you have no heart beat. When I was 16, living in LA, I saw the last Doyly Carte US tour. It was glorious and the encores could have gone on all night. The laughter still rings in my ears. G&S forever.

[@wurlitzer895]

Hi Richard. Which year was the last D'Oyly Carte USA tour? So lovely to know you have such happy memories of the performance. Best wishes, Peter A :) :) :)

[@richardallen3810]

@@wurlitzer895 1976, they were at the Greek Theatre in LA. I had orchestra seats. On the last night they did what is traditionally a potpourri of songs mixed up with different costumes and the performers are said to never know what the conductor will play next in turn. It was hysterically funny. They would be doing Pirates and the orchestra would play Gondoliers and someone would enter in a Yoeman costume . It was complete madness.

[@wurlitzer895]

@@richardallen3810 Thanks very much for that, Richard. It sounds wonderful - quite brilliant, in fact. In the early 1970s, I made a point of attending their London season at Sadlers' Wells. Always a cracking evening's entertainment. I hope the operas continue to flourish, but I fear these days they may fall foul of that nonsense that passes for modern sensibilities. I'm so grateful I had the opportunity to see so many of the D'Oyly Carte productions before the curtain finally fell. So very sad it all had to end. Keep well, and lovely to chat and reminisce. Peter A :) :) :)

[@richardallen3810]

@@wurlitzer895 As a side note, I met Martin Green in person and had a chat with him. He was also living in LA and performing nightly in an English Pub a selection of songs with piano. He died not to soon afterward as his health wasn’t very good but he was very kind to me and I always thought it was so very sad he ended his career in a 2nd rate restaurant pub club in the valley and the people who really showed up were G&S fans. Nobody who was my age. I had no idea he lived in California but my drama teacher at the time who knew my love of G&S told me Mr Green was singing in a nightclub Pub and I should not miss the opportunity to see him in person. Glad I did. To be so close to a legend was thrilling. Cheers from the USA😊

[@wurlitzer895]

@@richardallen3810 Thanks for sharing that. It's a lovely story, and a wonderful memory to treasure. I never knew he moved to the USA. It is often sad to see how well-known and much-loved personalities live out their declining years, once they are out of the public eye. It does pay to make the effort to see these famous people whilst we still have the opportunity to do so. All the very best to you from the UK!! Take care!! Peter A :) :) :)

[@rosemarysearle7093]

Fell in love with my future husband when he was 'the orchestra' on piano for an amateur production of Iolanthe. We were together for 43 years. Sadly, he passed away four years ago. This is still my favourite G & S number.

[@witchingours4432]

This is what Gilbert & Sullivan is capable of being, and so rarely is.

[@d.f.4830]

This clip - this whole production - has taken me from ‘Dennis Olsen is a very talented comic performer’ to ‘Dennis Olsen is a mad genius.’

[@jonhartley]

SUPERB! Never done better!

[@markbeck8384]

Utter silliness. Love it. G&S is a little hard when you go on a binge and watch several in a row: a lot of the characters and gimmicks seem interchangeable; but they're delightful when you haven't seen one in a long while. Good tunes, lots of dancing, funny British humor, pretty girls, character actors, lavish costumes..

[@anastasiasim5113]

Ron was my singing teacher in the mid 1980s. How delightful.

[@bluemoonholiday]

Marvelous!! Really takes me back. 🥰

[@Tocsin-Bang]

This is now my all-time favourite performance in the whole of the Savoy Operas that I have ever seen, in more than 50 years. I watch it a couple of times a week, and every time I find something new. Sadly nobody performs G&S where I now live.

[@Kirkee7]

Great singers, brilliant.

[@elmarow2495]

Best thing I have seen on KZbin to date

[@awesomemom533]

Darling choreography. Wonderful!

[@kateandphoebe]

Dennis Olsen is a really good dancer!!

[@julistarling8382]

He reminds me of our local Empire Lyrics Players and their Lord Chancellor from several years ago. Except that he might actually be even a bit better than ours. Splendid legs and very good dancing (you can see it in the "There Lived a King" video from The Gondoliers also).

[@zacariasdelalcazar8873]

I have never seen that many encores at a time. Bravo! Highlight of the opera for sure. Three stars onstage! Added value if you've seen Patience (1995), it's like seeing Bunthorne and the Duke with a friend.

[@sKid-gh9ub]

Multiple encores of a show-stopping number is a bit of a tradition in G&S. The D'Oyly Carte did it with "Never Mind the Why and Wherefore" and Essgee Entertainment famously did it with "With Cat Like Tread."

[@Jamie_Pritchard]

I would swear Dennis floats along 😁

[@winifredtrout1]

Absolutely hilarious!!!Hustle your horse and don't say die!!

[@suttonelms1]

That's brilliant!

[@OzAuthor]

Thank you so much for posting this. Dennis Olsen was the master of G&S character roles. Graeme Ewer and Ronald Maconaghie such talented artists too.

[@dilliekeane3484]

Absolutely magnificent and hilarious!

[@peterscrafton5212]

An absolutely brilliant performance, with the three of them clearly enjoying themselves. Oh, that there were more of this and like this - I play it frequently, and wish that I could have been anywhere near as good as these three when I performed it. I agree with every one of the compliments paid to it........ Bravissimo!!!!

[@lesleyrann184]

Simply brilliant! Love it

[@sethdylanhunt3523]

Delightful!

[@harrietgate]

You were so lucky! I bet you had lots of fun!

[@gavrinmahaffey3656]

Brilliant!!🤣

[@ballaratboy1]

This performance was from 1976 not 1980

[@karldelavigne8134]

I suspect a lot of this comic business goes back to Grossmith, Passmore and Lytton.

[@karldelavigne8134]

@Greg Elchert Yes, we are lucky to have those films (and there is even some of Lytton) but Martyn Green got a lot of that stage business handed down to him. No doubt every generation added something. The Mikado's laugh only started with Darrell Fancourt.

[@thepantweaver]

What is the symbol on the back of the little cart that gets such a laugh from the audience?

[@margueritejohnson8373]

It’s an ‘L’ plate which learner drivers have to display on the car they are driving.

[@shakespearegames5378]

I like Graeme Ewer. (As well as Dennis Olsen, of course!) I can't find any theatre credits for him after Patience in 1995, though. Does anyone know if he retired or what happened to him?

[@roosterrooter13]

He’s on the Australian Operas 1989 production (and DVD) of The Gondoliers, appearing as the Duchess of Plaza Toro.

[@shakespearegames5378]

@@roosterrooter13 Thanks!

[@danilo22uk]

He is KoKo in the AO Mikado also The Merry Widow & Die Fledermaus with Joan Sutherland

[@kateandphoebe]

Have people seen this wonderful 2015 interview with Dennis Olsen? m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/nnfLiJ2CmZiDZ7s

[@jercar150]

I think this might have been 1976.

[@DIMON_CAMI]

Is that Iolanthe?

[@lordwunglerbeckett]

Yes sir, yes it is

[@francescoevangelista1448]

Yeah

[@Afalstein]

Do, like, all Gilbert and Sullivan actors have multiple encore routines prepared? It feels like every time I watch a G&S production with an encore, the actors have a whole new dance prepared. Like, I really hope they practiced where they dropped him flat on his ass, because that looked dangerous.

[@sKid-gh9ub]

I would say it's a safe bet it was rehearsed that way, especially since they later bring out a cart with an L plate for one of the encores that doesn't appear anywhere else in the production.

[@amyc.russell9487]

to quote Anna Russell, the patter tenor always does a little dance and an encore... whether you want him to or not.

[@TheKing-qz9wd]

Imagine being so good you do a double encore for the crowd and we can all pretend the pep talk just took a while to set it. Not every play, I tell you, not every play could it work this good even with the efficacy of good actors. Also slightly sad for the Judge.

[@macphail1974]

Where can we watch the whole thing?

[@sKid-gh9ub]

I think Brian Castles-Onion has it on his KZbin channel.

[@tashwhimpey8114]

Someone in the audience screamed at 4:59 lol

[@sharongelfand5065]

This was Olsen, the Lord Chancellor.

[@tashwhimpey8114]

@@sharongelfand5065 Hi Sharon! I am referring to the high pitched scream in the audience - if you play the video a few seconds before the time that I indicated, you'll hear it

[@sharongelfand5065]

@@tashwhimpey8114 Hi! I do think it seemed to be Olsen. The cart hit the edge of the stage and seems to have startled him. That's when his mouth opened, and when the scream seems to have occurred.

[@tashwhimpey8114]

@@sharongelfand5065 Hi again, Dennis screaming is actually part of the act, not an accident. The scream in the audience is faint in comparison to Dennis's, and occurs after his. I hope you can hear it this time.

[@sharongelfand5065]

@@tashwhimpey8114 I'll try again. This piece is such fun!

[@rogerpropes7129]

What's the [British?} joke with the L on the car?

[@stevenmathers6661]

L (learner) plates must be displayed by a learner (as yet unqualified) driver.

[@richardholmesmusic2128]

I'm afraid the choreography is too camp and twee for my taste.

[@alisonrhodes7312]

Think music halls, pantomimes, satire. It is all about poking fun at aspects of life taken too seriously. Today’s woke generation can’t get into it either but they are exactly what and who Gilbert would have made fun of.

[@julistarling8382]

About the "woke generation" and their being exactly who Gilbert would have made fun of. Absolutely. ^__^

[@julistarling8382]

There are some of the young today who do get into it though. Especially children and also some of the teenagers that perform G&S.

[@begs54]

Please stop with the damn encores!!! It really ruins the whole continuity of a piece. And just as in FYI. The D'Oyly Carte really frowned on encores . They would even put a blurb in the program asking the audience to refrain from them........

[@sKid-gh9ub]

The 1973 Pinafore video put out by the D'Oyly Carte, which was filmed in a studio with audience sounds added in later, also contains multiple differently choreographed encores of Never Mind the Why and Wherefore. It's possible you're talking about a different era, but they certainly weren't frowning upon encores in 1973.

[@SarahB1863]

@@sKid-gh9ub I have the DVD of that performance! :-) It was my first televised experience of Pinafore.

[@danilo22uk]

@@sKid-gh9ub I saw D'oyly Carte Opera Liverpool in 1970. They did 7 encores for "here's a how de do" Mikado

[@Nicholas32906]

Martyn Green mentions this in his book when you get to “Here’s a how-de-do.” He talks about how he didn’t like this and challenged the musical director (and that same night he made a record of nine encores for “Here’s a how-de-do!”)

[@begs54]

@@Nicholas32906 That's Martyn Green. If you read further he also said the musical director ( Isidore Godfrey) and the company management (Rupert D'Oyly Carte) frowned on these encores as it breaks the continuity of the music and action. You have to admit taking nine encores for Here's- a how-de-do is over the top. Besides even when you watch a vid like this you can tell if the audience really wants a second encore or not. I am one who hates encores as a performer. In a production of The Mikado I was in (playing Ko-Ko) the music director built in 5 encores each for Here's a how-de-do, The Flowers That Bloom in the Spring, and Beauty In The Bellow of the Blast. Never once did we take more than one encore, unless the MD had forced a second one on us. If you are good performer you can gauge your audiences wants and not pander to your own needs as a forced comedian on stage. This vid is just a prime example. In my opinion.