Her production – which otherwise maintains the traditional story, costumes and songs – opened at The Canberra Theatre last night, the first performance of its Australian tour.

Regan said the idea of the production – "a way of trying to get a new slant" – was that it was presented as if by an all-boys boarding school, a bunch of lads having spirited – and innocent – fun. The actors playing female characters wear dresses and sing in falsetto voices but otherwise, she said, "in order to avoid overplaying it or overegging the humour I have it played very straight – as straight as you can with Gilbert and Sullivan".

The story is the familiar one. Frederic (played by Matthew Gent), who was apprenticed by mistake to a gang of pirates until his 21st birthday, discovers that as his birthday falls on February 29 he will be in their servitude far longer than he originally thought. What will this do to his love for Mabel (Alan Richardson)?

While audiences have found the all-male concept intriguing, she said, they soon become involved in the story including the relationship between the young lovers.

"When they finally kiss ... people have totally forgotten they are two men."

She said there was no conscious choice to make any kind of political statement with the all-male Gilbert and Sullivan presentations but that she had worked and socialised happily with many gay men in her two decades of professional theatre.

Some of the cast – who are aged between 21 and 35 – have worked with Regan on one or more of her previous all-male Gilbert and Sullivan productions. Pirates was the first, about four years ago, followed by Patience and Iolanthe. All were presented at the Union Theatre in London, which she founded in 1998.

Richardson, 30, played Phyllis in Iolanthe two years ago and said that playing Mabel was something he had wanted to do since drama school when he had appeared – in a male role – in a production of Pirates.

"I just thought if I ever had a chance of singing that, it would be really cool."

And the tenor been enjoying the experience, getting used to wearing a dress ("after wearing it for two hours a day it feels right when you put it on") and singing in a falsetto voice.

"It's not camp and draggy, it's very pure, very natural, very real."

Like Regan and most of the cast it is his first time in Australia. They hope to see plenty of the sights during their tour and if all goes well with this production, they may bring another – perhaps Iolanthe – in the not too distant future.

The Pirates of Penzance is on at the Canberra Theatre Centre until Saturday. Tickets $45.90-$89.90. Bookings: 62752700.