Both the team and our audience much enjoyed The Jury’s Out and, when we met to view the video, someone had the idea that we should send a copy to the Buxton G&S Festival organisers, and offer our production as part of the 2026 Festival. And then we waited … until last Autumn we got the offer to perform at St John’s Church, Buxton, at 2:30pm on Wednesday 5 August as part of the 32nd International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival!

Despite this being peak holiday period, Linda managed to commit much the same team as for the première to travel to Buxton, and has since been working on Plan A/Plan B/Plan C as other obstacles are gradually overcome. We can’t take the set or the orchestra, but the essentials of the production remain the same, and we’re looking forward to appearing.

Do come and support us if you fancy a holiday in England’s lovely Peak District – you can book at this link – but, if that’s too much of an ask, you can see the team at Limekilns on 17/18 July. Details at this link.

The story so far is told in “The Road to Buxton – Part 1” on pp26–27 of the June issue of the NODA Scotland magazine.  We look forward to writing Part 2!

Were you one of those unlucky folk who missed The Jury’s Out première last year? So you didn’t find out why the couple in Trial by Jury ended up in court? Or did you see Linda Milne’s fabulous show and wish you were able to see it again?

Well, the good news is that we’re taking the show to Buxton in August and, as part of our preparations, we’re running it next month at Limekilns Parish Church, at 7:30pm on Friday 17 July and 2:30pm on Saturday 18 July. The full show, and the full fun, though with piano accompaniment and staging adapted to the venue.

Tickets are £13 on the door, or tel/text Anne Dolbear on 07703 483083 to make sure of a seat. On the Saturday, finding a parking place might be a tad tricky, so we’d encourage you if you can to come by bus or to share lifts.

Click the image for a full-size flier.

This wasn’t the final fully-dressed version of the curtain call, just an intermediate version, but is intended to give you a flavour of what the show looked like until such time as the video is available.

As you can read in the programme (downloadable from this link), this year’s production of Patience was a modernised version of the original opera which first opened in 1881 at the Opera Comique Theatre in London. The music and characters were unchanged, but we updated parts of the libretto and set the action around the Elstree Studios at Borehamwood, from where Strictly Come Dancing is broadcast. Another change was that in the original work the title role of Patience was a milkmaid. This was fine in 1881, but you don’t get many milkmaids in Borehamwood in 2026, so her occupation was upgraded to a florist!

There were other changes and updates that you might expect … for example, Colonel Calverley’s recipe for a Heavy Dragoon omitted the obscure references to historical characters that are the delight of G&S aficionados … but all Sullivan’s delightful music was there, even if ‘lovesick maidens’ morphed into ‘star-struck ladies’. And there were many nods in the direction of Elstree, with the glamorous Archibald ‘Anton’ Grosvenor wooing all the ladies, and the guardsmen donning evening wear – even sequins in one case – ready for the inevitable dancing.

There was of course a twist! Patience audiences are usually glad for Jane, in our production wittily embodied by our Honorary President, when the Duke chooses her as his bride, leaving Bunthorne “to be contented with a tulip or lily”. But when our Duke fancies the elegant Algernon … “dashed again!”

Needless to say, great fun was had by all, both on the stage and in the audience. Next stop, the Buxton International G&S Festival in August, when we shall be reprising The Jury’s Out in a semi-staged concert performance.

We’d love to have feedback on what you thought of the show, so we can create an archive page in due course. Please email your thoughts and reviews to martin@dgass.org.uk.