Iolanthe

This society excels at Gilbert and Sullivan and this production was no exception. The story tells the tale of the Fairy Queen (Janet James) being persuaded by the fairies to forgive Iolanthe (Sharon Tozer) and her son Strephon (Cyril Ma) who loves Phyllis (Kate Wilson). Janet and Sharon sang and acted their roles well supported by the other principals including Paul Wozniak as Earl of Mountararat and Mark Ellse as Earl Tolloller. Comedy came from Bill Rogers as Private Willis. Avril Bell and Deborah Webb as two of the fairies gave excellent support as did the chorus, but I did feel that Cyril Ma and Kate Wilson had outstanding vocals. Robert Mead really stood out as The Lord Chancellor. His diction was excellent and as usual his with his singing voice you could hear every word. With a large orchestra, under the direction of Martin Fautley, I thought we may not hear the singing but he kept the volume down to just the right level so every word could be heard., even without microphones. The set was good and the company made full use of the available space on stage, and the costumes really stood out. Especially the fairy's with all their glitter.

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