Iolanthe

Reading back over my review for last year’s production of ‘The Mikado’, I couldn’t help but notice I had predicted a ‘Gondoliers’ for 2018. Well, as is my usual M.O., I could not have been more wrong as I took my seat in the rather chilly Guildhall of St George for the West Norfolk Gilbert and Sullivan Society’s offering of …. ‘Iolanthe’. I knew only two things about this title: it was Gilbert and Sullivan, and, as an E flat Bass player in the Alderman Catleugh School brass band, (Springwood for those of you who don’t go back that far) we played a piece of music from it! As I was waiting for the curtain to go up I tried to educate myself further with a tertiary glance at the programme and noted with interest that there was a new Director, a new Musical Director …. new names backstage and a promise of new faces on stage. It seemed that the W.N.G & S had been spring-cleaned! The story of ‘Iolanthe’ is silly, very silly even by G & S standards, with banished fairy Iolanthe spending 25 years at the bottom of a well for marrying a mortal and having a half- human half-fairy (“only from the waist down”) child. I would tell you more but even as I write it… it sounds preposterous … and I am told the Lynn News have already explained everything! One thing that has never ceased to amaze me with the W.N.G & S is that, whilst all the other groups in 4 North were tightening belts, recycling, sharing and cost cutting, the last 5 or so of their productions have continued to look expensive. These guys were still at the Corn Exchange for a year or two after everyone else had bailed. I mention this for a very simple reason. Along with the spring-cleaning, there had clearly been some other …… re-structuring and, as soon as the curtain was raised and the lights went up, I knew this was cut-price comic opera! The set (credited as “Cast”) looked a bit like a car boot sale on stage with a rather nice fountain as a centre piece. Lighting and Sound (Guildhall professional) were unspectacular but perfectly fine. In a world where now even performers in plays wear head mics, these guys kept it real and sounded wonderful because of it. Costumes (Violet Truelove) were very much contemporary, and very much random ... continuing the car boot theme! But for all of that, everyone looked great! Supporting Make up (Carley Hall and Katie Griffin) did everything it had to do, and incidental props (credited as Cast) caused me no offence whatsoever … with a copy of the Beano all but stealing the show! It used to be my contention that the average age of a G & S cast in King’s Lynn was in the 70’s (take away Andy Masterson and you could get this down to 68) but in recent years this has been dropping fast. The chorus of Fairies especially had as much youth in it as you would really want and when your junior members are as talented as these were, it makes for a delightful mix. The ladies looked sharp and well drilled with the men a little less certain of words and moves but delivering some killer comedy. The overall sound of the chorus singing was very good indeed with plenty of unamplified (for the most part) volume. In the supporting roles I enjoyed Hannah Norwood, Su Widd and Liz Griffin as Fairies Fleta, Leila and Celia with the marvellous Jessica (I’m sure she used to be Jess) Abbott proving to whoever decided to give her the biggest part she has played so far…what a darned smart move that was. Miss Abbott was enchanting (as she has been in the last two outings) as the disgraced fairy, Iolanthe. My obsession with Freya Brunton shows no signs of abating as I was fixated (as usual) still desperately trying to work out how she can open her mouth no more than 3mm …. and belt out a massive song without (seemingly) taking a single breath. It is indeed an enigma. In truth ‘Iolanthe’ turned out to be “light” in the plot and characterisation department and this role did not greatly tax the uber talented Miss B unduly. Another performer who was completely on top of his game was the hilarious David Collingham. Another piece of inspirational casting as he took the part of late-comer to the fray, Private Willis of the Grenadier Guards. I was a little embarrassed at first as I laughed due to his apparent reticence in the part, but I soon realised I had been duped as he cleverly worked the audience to get the maximum humour out of his character. I then continued to laugh unashamedly knowing he knew exactly what he was doing and was doing it rather well. The director had decided to give this title a cheeky little 1980’s motif. I have no idea why, and it may well be that she doesn’t either, but some of the non-G & S humour was derived from this very well considered positioning. As the Queen of the Fairies (and the Iron Lady) my all-time favourite G & S performer, Julie Bjerregaard was magnificent. Her comic timing is the envy of everyone who sees her, and she can get more laughs out of a single facial expression than most performers could get out of a ten minute stand up. When she first surfaced as Mrs Thatcher… she brought the house down! Again, this was a straight forward part for a performer of her class but rather than play it safe … she gave it everything, and with her beautiful singing voice sounding as good as ever (we shall not mention the ‘Pirates’ ….) she was worth the ticket price on her own. There is always a case of familiarity breeding contempt, but consistency tends to be able to trump this on most occasions. With ‘Iolanthe’, two of the regular leading men formed an unexpected (to me at least) double-act and the talent they individually possess was easily more than doubled. Andy Hiles as Lord Tolloller and Andrew Masterson as Lord Mountararat purred through the ridiculousness of the script like a well-oiled … oily thing! By the end of the production … they only had to come on stage and I was laughing. Mr Masterson’s suit was also a triumph being as much Sky, as Andrew! Like Aldi’s Zinfandel, these two get better with age, and this was sublime. The very same superlatives could be levelled at incredible John Torr as The Lord Chancellor. The undisputed master of the patter song, Mr Torr is never less than a joy to watch … on every outing. The perfect straight man for Masterson and Hiles (as they will be known on the music hall circuit) Mr Torr was completely in control of every one of his lines, moves … and excessively wordy songs. Penultimate paragraph honours could have gone pretty much anywhere with Bjerregaad, Masterson, Hiles, Bruton and Torr all in the frame … but in the end, this ludicrous story needed an endearing and self-effacing hero, and as Strephon, (half man…. half fairy) Lawrence Thackery was not half bad. He has a cracking singing voice and a brilliantly light comedy touch that puts him right up with the best of the local Am-Dram leading men. What was required for this performance was to be likeable … and (once again) I liked him a lot. I had a brilliant time - and saying that about a G & S show becomes less of a surprise to me each time I do it. My compliments go to new Director, Lynne Loose. She threw an awful lot of stuff at this production and most of it stuck. No big deal, but I did think some of the technical direction was a little untidy … but not much. I see from her biog that she has a long association with Messrs Gilbert & Sullivan, but she clearly put a lot of herself into this show as well. I like G & S best when it doesn’t take itself too seriously and this production really didn’t. I credit Mrs Loose with this and I feel that she will continue to be a major asset to W.N.G & S for many years to come. My hat is also off to Musical Director, John T. Smith and his impeccable 13 (no really … have you seen the size of the orchestra pit?) piece orchestra who delivered such a stunning sound that I had to stay to the end to applaud. With Samantha Ashby on Percussion and the legend that is Eddie Seales on Flute and Piccolo (Mr Seales I recall, is more country and western at heart) this was a top-notch band! I mentioned at the top of this piece that things looked to have taken a turn towards the budget side … I don’t know what the driver for this was but, in the final analysis, I was so focussed on the performers and the performances that it made no difference at all. Good scenery can make a good show better, but it can’t make a bad show good, or a good show bad …. and this was a very good show! Circumstances meant I got home later than planned this night but as left the hallowed Tuesday Market Place I just could not stop smiling! Now then … to plan Masterson and Hiles’ summer season….…

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