Iolanthe

Due to the temporary closure of the Kings Theatre, EDGAS made the brave decision to relocate to the Festival Theatre with its vast auditorium and huge stage. Rather than face the daunting task of building a set to fit the stage, they made excellent use of the modern technology available at the theatre using animation as the backdrop to create scenes and atmosphere. This most innovative and very clever use of animation was most effective in transporting the audience to fairyland, Arcadia and parliament and also in creating the rather spooky images as seen by the Lord Chancellor in his nightmare song. A fairly simple stage set depicting a fairy ring and stream was then transformed to represent the House of Lords by using red velvet seating. The combination of animation, this set and beautiful costumes resulted in a fabulous visual effect. This modern approach complemented a production which was generally speaking fairly traditional but, as one would expect, was updated in parts with references to the current political climate and other topical events, I'm sure there won't have been many Lord Chancellors running across the stage carrying the Olympic torch!
One of the advantages of the large stage was that this cast of over 60 could be positioned and grouped where all could be seen and there was scope for lots of movement in the big production numbers which were very well executed.
Iolanthe is possibly one of G&S best loved operettas and this company did it proud. The choral singing was quite outstanding by both the chorus of fairies and the strong male chorus of peers and when combined as in the rousing finale to Act 1 the result was powerful and stirring. This first class chorus supported a flawless cast of principals. Gillian Robertson played the part of the innocent Phyllis with great charm and was well matched to Scott Barron (Strephon). Scott Thomson (Earl of Mountararat) and Darren Coutts (Lord Tolloller) worked well together as the distinguished Lords in pursuit of Phyllis while Ian Lawson was a lively dynamic Lord Chancellor. Fiona Main was in fine form as the Queen of the Fairies flying in and out wearing a quite spectacular dress and Liz Landsman earned our sympathy as the banished Iolanthe. The standard of singing by all of the principals including minor principals was extremely high. There were some wonderful solo and ensemble numbers - " Spurn not the Nobly Born ", "When Britain Really Ruled the Waves", "Though P'r'aps I May Incur Thy Blame ", and " If You Go In " being but a few of the highlights.
This was indeed a first class production supported by a superb orchestra who silenced the audience during the overture !
Congratulations on taking up the challenge of presenting a modern, refreshing approach to Iolanthe. It all worked. Loved it !

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