Iolanthe

Iolanthe is a Gilbert and Sullivan Opera that I have never encountered before. I knew nothing of the story as I had deliberately not done any research - I wanted to see if Woodhouses A.O.S. Could convey the story to me and they most certainly did. I am always astounded at Woodhouses A.O.S. that the musical score is played by one gentleman only on a piano (Anthony Hunt). I am certain by the end of each performance he must be exhausted!

Anne Butterworth as steampunk dressed Musical Director kept everyone on their musical toes, there were a couple of dropped vocals but it did not detract from the audience's obvious enjoyment. Pace throughout was good without rushing, there was plenty of time for facial expressions to accompany the words being sung. I would however like to hear more of the ends of the letters of the words being sung instead of jumping onto the next line in ensemble pieces - this was quite evident in the opening chorus of " Tripping Hither,Tripping Thither".

The set was quite simplistic, but beautifully painted. The contrast of painting styles between the fairy glade and No 10 doorway was fantastic, it definitely mirrored the contrast between The Fairies and The Peers. I loved the use of the cuddly pet lamb for Strephon (Adrian Davison), it was a great visual tool to further convey his gentle side. The lighting throughout was quite generic and sympathetic to the scenes but I personally would have liked to see a bit more atmosphere projected for the fairy glade scenes, I don't know what other lighting effects are available at the venue though .

Susan Fletcher (Phyllis) and Adrian Davison (Strephon) had some lovely moments on stage , I particularly enjoyed their duet "None Shall Part Us" . They both had some super stage presence and gave great face and animation with their dialogue delivery. Vocals were consistently strong from both throughout the show. Rebecca Tonge (Iolanthe) had some fabulous vocals, she always has great tone and I could hear her diction very clearly in both her dialogue and her songs. She used body language well to show her respect to Pam Bailey (Fairy Queen). Mike Nash-Whitmore (Lord Mountararat) was great, his characterisation was spot on, he owned the stage as soon as he appeared, his diction was good and his vocals solid, he knew exactly what he was doing and shared some great chemistry with Lawrence Shoebridge (Lord Tolloller), their comedy timing was good. John Butterworth (Constable Willis) was a formidable presence as the policeman but when he took his cape off and revealed his bright pink fairy wings - it was a moment I will never forget, his timing was impeccable. He shared some great moments with Pam Bailey (Fairy Queen) - they were a great match on stage.

Peter Shellard (Lord Chancellor) always has superb stage presence, his timing, delivery and diction were fabulous- he is not afraid to pause and is always fully immersed in his characterisation. His vocals and tone were good, I enjoyed his personal affectations as Lord Chancellor. The Ensemble consisted of The Fairies and The Peers, they filled the stage well , I particularly enjoyed "In Vain To Us You Plead". A little more time and care needs to be taken with choreography, when walking in a line please try to all use the same lead foot otherwise it is very distracting to the person watching.

The idea of dressing The Peers in Steampunk and The Fairies as Eco Warriors was a brave and exciting one - I love it when a society thinks outside the box and tries something new. In this instance I personally feel the combination of the two was a step too far and it would have been better to have done both The Peers and The Fairies as Steampunk, I know from hearing some muttering in the audience that people didn't understand why it had been done at all. However, I do appreciate that a lot of time, thought and effort went into making the costumes and while for me they didn't work in this particular production they looked great. Pace throughout the production was good and the story was definitely portrayed well and understood by the audience.

I enjoyed the performance and look forward to seeing you all again soon.

 

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