Iolanthe

The true comic reverence of Gilbert and Sullivan is timeless and no one I know can help deliver this more than Hull Savoyards Amateur Operatic Society. With times moving so do the musicals but it is truly a delight to see this company going strong with these wonderful shows and their recent production of Iolanthe did not disappoint.

Every time I see Hull Savoyard shows I am always blown away by their phenomenal singing performances. The raw talent of the entire cast is sensational and you can definitely tell how hard it must have been to cast the show with the many options the production team obviously had. However Kathryn and Martin Lay have done a fantastic job at creating this time honoured classic. The incorporation of the fabulous live music provided by the Kingston Savoy Orchestra was breath taking and so professional.

The beautifully crazy story of Iolanthe was only enhanced by the wonderful cast, the main entwining love story throughout this show is that of the half fairy half mortal Strephon and his true love Phyllis, played by Samuel Emeny and Lorna Newby. Both gave a lovely performance and helped move the story along. The absolutely stunning voice of Helen Spencer as Queen of the fairies was sensational and truly jaw dropping as soon as you heard her stunning voice. Equally as breath-taking was the vocal stylings of Nick Sephton as The Lord Chancellor. His rendition of ‘Love, unrequited, robs me of my rest’ was absolutely amazing. The beautiful trio of Celia (Samantha Williams), Leila (Lydia Baldwin) and Fleta (Elizabeth Franklin) was sensational and added a real breathe of fresh air to the performance. The wonderful title character of Iolanthe was played by Zoe Sellens, what a talented young lady who clearly portrayed the wonderful mind set of the character. I must admit my favourite charecters throughout the show had to be Lord Mountararat (Rod Crocker), Lord Tolloller (Stuart Sellens) and Lord Grosvenor (Sophie Rowe). These three provided such comic excellence throughout the performance that they regularly had the audience in fits of laughter. Indeed I was very impressed with the male ensembles comic attributes throughout the show.

The set was very simple but at the same time added a lovely backdrop to the whole performance and really helped the actors to set this wonderful piece. The lighting was wonderful and the incorporation of levels within the set were used to great affect to make sure the performers were seen. The costumes were excellent and were truly in keeping with the overall feel of whimsy throughout the show. The movement was basic throughout the songs but very effective especially with the amount of cast on stage.

All in all it was another superb performance by Hull Savoyard and all that were involved in this wonderful production should be proud of the amazing piece of theatre they created. I went to see the show on their closing evening and if the amount of audience and audience reaction was as prevalent throughout the other performances then it will have been a true representation of the whole performance.

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