Who is Pineapple Poll ?

Described as a “light hearted frolic” Pineapple Poll is a Gilbert and Sullivan-inspired comic ballet, created in 1959 by choreographer John Cranko with arranger Sir Charles Mackerras, based on "The Bumboat Woman's Story", one of W. S. Gilbert's Bab Ballads, written in 1870. It’s all a touch baffling – “The Bumboat Women’s Story” ?????

The heroine is a girl called Pineapple Poll who sells flowers and the hero is Captain Belaye of the H.M.S. Hot Cross Bun.

Certainly the most entertaining of the youtubes of “Pineapple Poll” is this one of Robert Parker’s performance as Captain Belaye in his first solo during the Birmingham Royal Ballet's stage rehearsals.

 

Go on watch it – it will make you smile. Sadly Pineapple Poll only does a fleeting twirl across the stage towards the end in this particular clip, Anne.