The District Court of South Australia is well versed in drama and wigs, but rarely is it a place of comedic entertainment.
But State Opera South Australia will this week turn the Sir Samuel Way Building into its stage for a production of Trial by Jury, as part of the Adelaide Fringe.
State Opera artistic director Stuart Maunder said the tight security protocols and restrictions in place at the court precinct were only adding to the intrigue, with the show selling out months ago.
He said the operetta had attracted a new audience.
"I don't think there's a doubt," he said.
"The idea that we can present something that sits naturally inside a hallowed area I think is important.
"We only ever see the steps, don't we? You never think about going inside.
"There's a grandeur about South Australia that we love, just even going into the Sir Samuel Way Building and seeing that marble staircase, there's a thrill about it."
Maunder has been staging Trial by Jury in courtrooms around the world since the 1990s, with the first one in London's Bow Street Magistrates Court.
He said performing the Gilbert and Sullivan production in the South Australian District Court had been in the works since 2018, with the Courts Administration Authority "bending over backwards" to make it happen.
"Every court is different, but the thing that's always the same is that it turns the law on its head — we love that," Maunder said.
"In most jurisdictions that we've done it, the legal fraternity and therefore the powers that be, have said how important this is and let's go and enjoy it.
"The worse we've had to do is have people go through metal detectors."
That will be the case at the District Court, with all cast, crew and audience required to pass through security before the show each night.
There will also be a strict ban on photography and filming inside the court precinct, as is usually the case.
There will no stage lights or props; instead a court sketch artist has been called in to capture the action.
Challenges for performers
Performer Mark Oates said as the stage was a working courtroom, there would be no opportunity to rehearse in the space before opening night tonight.
"We've recreated as best we can the outline of the court in our rehearsal room, so we can build and block and know basically how everything's going to happen," he told ABC News.
"But then on the day that we move into the theatre, we will have to make all of our adjustments and arrangements.
"You know, does this door open that way or that way, for example. I thought I might be able to sit on that bench but 'oh, it's a little taller, I might need to jump off it instead'.
"Throwing us in the deep end is a wonderful challenge and very exciting and energising."
Soprano performer Alexandra Scott said the pre-show preparation would also "be a real adventure".
With no dressing and green rooms in the court, performers will have to arrive in costume and make-up.
"I think it's an exceptional opportunity," Scott said.
"Normally it would be done in a theatre and you'd re-create a courtroom on the stage.
"But the fact that it's the real venue, I think is going to create an unparalleled atmosphere for both the performers and the audience.
"The audience are going to play a huge role in this production, it's what we'd call immersive theatre."
Mr Oates said the audience would be required, at times, to step in as the jury, the media and sit alongside the judge.
"In true Gilbert and Sullivan style, we have many, many word plays, lots and lots of great funny puns, lots of references to other kinds of music that you'll recognise," Oates said.
The courtroom allocated for the show can accommodate up to 80 people a night.
Trial by Jury will be performed in the South Australian District Court between March 16 and 18 as part of the Adelaide Fringe and again in May as part of the State Opera's Gilbert and Sullivan Festival.
