Iolanthe

Iolanthe was premiered at the Savoy Theatre in November 1882, and ran for 398 performances. It was the first G and S to be entirely lit by electricity. It gave Gilbert the chance to devote a whole opera to the gentle teasing of an institution, the House of Lords. The humour consequently is very sharp, but not spiteful, and as always should not be taken too seriously. It is just a very funny fairytale. BLOS chose to mount a steampunk-inspired production, which added an extra element of spice.

The Nomad Theatre in East Horsley is a well-equipped venue, with a large modern bar area. Front of House staff are very welcoming.

The well designed programme contained interesting notes on the opera and on BLOS’s steampunk-inspired version of it. There were the useful list of musical numbers and a synopsis, and director and cast profiles.

The Houses of Parliament backdrop, with Private Willis’s sentry box, was fun, and the fairies’ woodland glade was beautiful. The fairies’ arrival on stage was always preceded by the sound of a steam engine, and the descent of what looked like a train compartment, bearing the logo ‘fairy aviation’, which confused me slightly, but was good fun. Both lighting and sound were very effective throughout.

The fairies costumes were super. Various types of black bodices over different coloured gossamer type skirts with asymmetric hems, fairy style, in dark green, red or purple. They wore net elbow-length black mittens or wrist warmers, much punk-style jewellery, and there was an assortment of black hats, often toppers, adorned with brass-rimmed goggles. It must have been amusing to put this all together, and it added greatly to the fun of this production. The Fairy Queen was resplendent in her long golden gown and elaborate gold headdress. Of course all the fairies had wands. Makeup was excellent. Phyllis began in green overalls with a bright red bow in her hair, later wore a very pretty country girl’s dress, but later still also the steampunk look.

Strephon was clad in overalls and train driver’s cap, and carried spanners upon his person. No longer a shepherd, but a mechanic! The Lords were of course very elegant in tailcoats and top hats. Private Willis was in scarlet guard’s uniform.

Musical Director Roger Wilman did a marvellous job, and David Mortimer, on electric piano, seemed to do the job of a whole orchestra, we had to keep pinching ourselves that he was the sole musician.

The scene was set in the fairies’ evocative woodland glade. At the request of the fairies, Iolanthe was forgiven by the Fairy Queen for the sin of having married a mortal many years before,  and so was  allowed to emerge from banishment, which as she explained, she had chosen to spend at the bottom of the pond, in order to be near her son Strephon, the mechanic. Strephon is enamoured of the beautiful Phyllis, a ward in chancery. He is shocked to discover that he is only half a fairy, due to his mother’s marriage – fortunately the bottom half mortal, top half fairy. Thus far a typically mad and intriguing G and S plot!

The thing that struck me most about this production, apart from the amazing costumes, was the clarity of diction, so that one could really get the most from the wonderfully humorous libretto;  the stunning harmonies in the ensemble numbers; and the choreography.  Gill Eve made the best use of a fairly small stage (for such a large cast), and the performers produced some marvellously floaty dancing (the fairies of course), and some brilliantly nifty footwork from the Lords. (I was reminded of Morecombe and Wise dancing with their guests, and then prancing lightly about the stage).

Selena Edney (Celia), Gill Eve (Leila) and Julia Tribe (Fleta) played their roles with great gusto, and Lynda Barrett-Mercer performed the role of the Fairy Queen masterfully, with humour, in great voice, and with great presence. Melanie McCabe and Oskar Brown were an attractive young couple, as Phyllis and Strephon, and one could understand Iolanthe’s concern for her son, and for their happiness. Tessa Lawn gave us a splendid Iolanthe, full of love and understanding, and full of fear that Strephon’s father, the Lord High Chancellor might recognise her.

Now to the Lords. Tolloller (Kevin Wood) and Mountararat (Mark Lewis) made a great trio with the Lord Chancellor (Keith Kimnell), and we delighted in their individual numbers. I doubt BLOS could have found a finer Lord Chancellor than Keith Kimnell, whose patter songs were so  well executed and above all so easy to follow. Sidney Dolbear gave a hilarious performance as Private Willis, with cheeky facial expressions which amused and delighted us all.

Thus this well-directed team provided their audience once again with a marvellous autumn dose of G and S satire, nonsense, and enchanting music.

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