Iolanthe

Iolanthe is one of the staples of G&S groups, though performed a little less often, and it was nice to see an outing of it.

 

The musical score is beautiful to listen to, while the story is rather strange; this time dealing with the subjects of fairies and peers of the House of Lords. As usual, the story satirises an element of British life, this time on some of the ridiculous systems we have.

 

Casting – following the order of the programme

The Gents

David Towers played the role of The Lord Chancellor. He showed a lot of care in his characterisation, thinking carefully about how to bring the humour out of the role, even if it meant teddy joining him for company.    He showed great energy and gave us some lovely singing to boot.

 

Brian Lancaster did a lovely job with his portrayal of The Earl of Mountararat. He was clear and articulate and showed great skill in his role.

 

Colin Belsey was a very competent and confident Earl Tolloller, with a lovely voice and good characterisation.

 

Iain Lamb showed his comedic skills in this production with a humorous playing of Private Willis. His face a lot of the storytelling for him and was a pleasure to watch, especially his interactions with a certain admirer in act two.

 

Chris Isherwood’s gentle portrayal of half-fairy Strephon was enjoyable and matched well to his opposite, Phyllis.

 

The Ladies

Lorna Kelly was resplendent with great presence as Queen of the Faries. She showed confidence and great character development.

Val Still played the character Iolanthe very nicely, and with confidence. She was comfortable with the role and had clearly given good consideration to her character.

Angela Towers did a super performance of Celia. She was very engaging and watchable.

Vanessa Edwards really shon as Leila. I thought she had particularly good stage presence, a well developed character and good articulation.

Hazel Brevitt was a super Fleta. It is lovely to see youngsters shine in theatre and she wasn’t to be outdone by the adults. A fabulous performance from Hazel with clear diction and great presence.

Alice Helm as Phyllis was a wonderful casting. Effortless singing and good acting throughout from this performance. A nicely developed character and a joy to watch and listen to.

The chorus of Ladies and Gents in this production worked very hard and the results were there for us all to see and hear. It was lovely to see Staveley with a full stage, performing their hearts out to an appreciative and receptive audience. We witnessed nicely presented freeze-frames / tableaus, some lovely fairy chorus singing and some invisible and tricky horse manoeuvres, showing some good skills.

 

Costumes

The choice of costumes was nicely considered. A pleasing colour scheme for the fairies in particular, who certainly didn’t match but very much complimented each other with orange, yellow and brown tones. Very earthy and pretty to see. The men were slightly less coordinated but all appropriate.

 

The set was a pair of beautiful paintings, including the compulsory seagull, which showed a woodland screen for the first half and a cross-Thames view of Parliament for the second. They really were nice commissions and really upped the production values of the show.

Choreography throughout was simple and functional. Occasionally some members looked a little confused but it was mostly well drilled and fitted the bill.

The orchestra was fabulous and, as is often the case for local Gilbert and Sullivan, with the visit alone. There’s nothing quite like an orchestra bringing a show like this to life.

The Musical Director, David Tattersall, must be pleased with the production. There were no weak links in the principal singing and the chorus singing, while stronger from the ladies, was pleasurable and accurate.

Chris and Jo Worton as co-producers clearly had a traditional vision for this show and it came about nicely. They have worked together well in order to produce a polished performance and the society should be pleased with their efforts. Jo and Chris should be pleased that the characters are well developed and that their actors are able to show a relaxed confidence that you only get from a great rehearsal process. I’m sure they are pleased with their own efforts.

The highlights of the show, for me, were great singing, a well rehearsed and hard working cast, a super backdrop, some really good singing voices and a fabulous orchestra.

To improve, I would be considering the lighting transitions, which could sometimes put people in darkness momentarily when moving from one lighting scene to the next, some work on enhancing the actors who are a little more difficult to hear (this can be from age rather than a lack of ability, and we still want to hear the story). I’d hate to say microphones, because that’s quite a different direction to take things, but perhaps other work to ensure that lines aren’t lost. These are minor considerations in what was a good, solid show.

 

Thank you for inviting us.

 

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