Isle ‘Ave A Shanty – The Golden Hinde, London

A review of Isle ‘ave a Shanty, performing a rousing evening of sea shanties on board the historic Golden Hinde in London. Authentically fun and also a great opportunity for those who like a singalong.

What Better Spot Than The Golden Hinde?

In contrast to my last post which was a stimulating but relatively heavy-going piece of theatre, today’s post is about a jolly evening of singalong sea shanties. Now sea shanties had a resurgence in popularity during the pandemic. And this makes sense really; as well as being one of many traditions of singing designed to help with shared, repetitive work, sea shanties must have helped with feelings of confinement and isolation on board ship. But Isle of Ely-based Isle ‘ave a Shanty have been going since before it was cool.

And what better place to hear an evening of traditional sea-faring music than on board the Golden Hinde? You may know of the Golden Hinde as the famous galleon with which Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the globe in 1570. When Drake arrived back in London the ship became a major attraction. But essentially it was just left to rot in the end. Aside from a few boards which became a chair now at the University of Oxford somewhere.

Today’s Golden Hinde is, as is so often the case, the product of a labour of love. Americans Albert Elledge and Art Blum took inspiration from the 400th anniversary of Drake’s famous voyage. They embarked on a project to rebuild the Golden Hinde, using meticulous research and original materials and methods. The new Golden Hinde was launched in 1973, and went on several sea-going adventures. It’s now sailed over 100,000 nautical miles, including a circumnavigation of the globe and two additional crossings of the Atlantic. And lives permanently on London’s South Bank. A major conservation project which began in 2017 is protecting this new Golden Hinde for the future.

There’s not a whole lot of interpretation, but for £5 you can do a self-guided visit during opening hours and take a look at this important replica. It’s great to get a sense of conditions on board, and to think about what that would have been like on some of the long voyages sailors then undertook.

Isle ‘Ave A Shanty

Anyway, back to the matter at hand! Having learned a bit more about the Golden Hinde, doesn’t that sound like the perfect place to listen to some sea shanties? Or, conversely, doesn’t an evening of sea shanties sound like the perfect way to experience the Golden Hinde? The answer is yes on both counts.

Isle ‘ave A Shanty are a six-piece acapella sea shanty group who, as I mentioned, are from the Isle of Ely. The Salterton Arts Review went to Ely last year, and something you may remember is that Ely is not on the coast. But with an important waterway and fishing connection from its position in the Fens. So maybe not as incongruous as all that to have a sea shanty group from an inland location.

One thing I can say about Isle ‘ave a Shanty is that they are plenty of fun. The love that they have for being part of this group shines through. And it is very accessible: they encourage singing along, and even give some audience members a role in some of the songs. You would be hard pressed not to have a great time! And you are guaranteed to know at least some of the songs. If you don’t know ‘What Shall We Do With The Drunken Sailor’ then I don’t know what to tell you.

Do go and see them if you can. Or buy their album when it comes out this week. Or see other events (many musical) at the Golden Hinde. With all the bad things going on in the world right now, this was a lovely evening in great company.

Salterton Arts Review’s rating: 3.5/5