Product Review

Trial by Jury, featuring the internationally renowned Stratford Light Opera Company, comes to life under the gifted direction of Norman Campbell.

Trial by Jury is a delicious spoof of a breach of promise trial that takes a gentle jab at the British legal system of the time. The plot of this little gem revolves around a man who is being sued for withdrawing a proposal of marriage. The Defendant (Andrew Downie) is a roguish playboy, the lovely Plaintiff (Marion Studholme) flirts shamelessly with the all-male jury, and the Learned Judge (Eric House) settles the case by marrying the Plaintiff himself!

The success of Trial by Jury, composed in 1875 in less than three weeks, was so great that it is now considered the catalyst which encouraged Gilbert, Sullivan, and D'Oyly Carte to continue their creative relationship for the next eighteen years.