Iolanthe

Many thanks to Preston Gilbert and Sullivan Society for inviting me along to see Gilbert and Sullivan’s Iolanthe at the Preston Playhouse on Friday 10th March 2023. This was the second exposure in my life to the works of Gilbert and Sullivan and I must say I had a very wonderful evening indeed. The production tells a love story amongst finagling fairies challenging the House of Lords and tackles issues of cross pollination between classes and social prejudices, but in a light-hearted and comical manner. So, for a story which is 150 years old, the themes are very relevant in our current society.

Sue Hurrell and Merle Winstanley did a sterling job of depicting this narrative onstage and brought out the themes of the production well, which continued through the design elements of the production. There were some great characterisations created from the performers on stage, although there were differing acting styles used, which I would have preferred to be more consistent; more on this to follow. The spacing was kept interesting via different arrangements of the cast and use of levels. There was great pace to the show, with high energy and dynamics which maintained good momentum, contributing to the wonderful production.

Choreography was delivered by Emily Gray which was simple and effective, suiting the technical abilities of the cast. It contributed to delivering the intersecting themes within the production, through having more gestural movement and tableaus for the aristocrats against more free and floaty movement styles.

Robin Stopford was absolutely in his element as Musical Director and conducted the 15-piece orchestra wonderfully, who did not misplace or misplay a single note! During the overture, which was around 10 minutes long, I could not stop watching Robin as he embodied the dynamics and tones of the orchestra. I would like to give a special mention to the violinist who was featured for the pizzicato moments; I feel she deserves her own applause (and several blister pads) for the wonders she was achieving with her fingers at pace for the duration!

Technical design was of good quality, the set having a fully painted backdrop of an enchanted forest for the fairies’ section, which was extremely detailed and reminded me of a scene from a Monet painting. For the sections set in the city, a more stylised aesthetic was achieved through having suggestive trucks for the Houses of Parliament, Marble Arch and a Beefeater’s Hut marked with ‘ER’ in royal calligraphy. Lighting was simple with mainly a fully flooded stage which dimmed for atmospheric effect and there were a few scenes where some nice deep pink and blue hues were brought in. I got quite excited at the beginning of the show when I saw use of laser cutting through smoke; I am not sure why this wasn’t used throughout as it really was quite enchanting. Costumes and make up were great, and matched the differing acting styles which separated the fairies from the humans, with the fairies being fully rounded and warming and the humans appearing more suggestive and caricatured.

Now to the cast. I firstly would like to say that the cast as an entire collective were great and worked well together throughout the performance. A special notable mention goes to the senior members of the cast who were in their 70s and 80s! I was totally enamoured with their infectious energy and charisma, which at times out shone the younger members of the cast. The sound created during the full ensemble vocal numbers was super powerful and there was a great unity of the ensemble.

The title character, Iolanthe, was played by Rowena Perry who was strong in this role and brought a gentle and emotive venerability to the characterisation. Her vocal performance was stunning and dramatic, having some real power and intent behind every note. Her counterpart was played by Phillip Walsh, The Lord Chancellor, who was equally as strong dramatically and vocally and brought a strong gravitas to the role. There was a jovialness to his characterisation to which he was fully committed.

Iolanthe’s son, Strephon, was played by Robert Feeley. Although high energy and technically very competent, to me he looked almost choreographed in his acting style. However, this didn’t match the fully grounded and realistic style of his fairy counterparts or the caricatured feel of the humans and I felt he could have been more in the moment through letting go with his performance. His counterpart Phyllis was played by Rebecca Dyson, who is a very technically advanced vocalist; some of the notes she was producing in her higher register gave me goose bumps. For me, there could have been more sense of urgency and drama from her characterisation, but still a good performance was achieved from both.

The final love couple were played by Nicola Walsh as the Queen of the Fairies and David Maddocks as Private Willis; both gave brilliant performances throughout. I loved the Queen’s high energy and flippant emotions which dropped and turned within a snap. There was some great expressiveness from Nicola, which connected her vocal and physical performance. Although a relatively small part, Private Willis was played very well and gave a very strong comedic performance throughout with some great vocal work produced.

The featured fairies, Celia, Leila and Fleta were played by Amy Hardy, Hannah Dashwood and Joan Marshall respectively. This trio was very strong, providing great animation and energy. There was a real sense of honesty and a genuine feel to their performances and their vocal work was also very strong. Finishing the principal cast were David Twizell and Michael Stott as Earl Mountararat and Earl Tolloller respectively. David played this part with a strong characterisation and great expressiveness. He had a wonderful resonance in his lower register which he showcased in his solo and featured numbers. Michael showed some strong acting skills throughout the performance but unfortunately at times he looked as though he lost his place in the narrative  and came out of character in these moments, which was a shame as he was very energised and expressive when he was living in the moment.

Overall, a strong production which to me explicitly held a mirror up to the audience on some very poignant themes which are still relevant in today’s society. Thank you once again for inviting me to this very successful show, I look forward to seeing more from Preston Gilbert and Sullivan Society.

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