Iolanthe

Iolanthe is a much loved and well known offering from the pen of WS Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan so it was with a certain amount of trepidation that I read in the programme that the action was set in unspecified Victorian/Edwardian times , with scant regard for historical or constitutional accuracy !

I need not have concerned myself unduly, the ruse was to smooth the way to allow a full participation by all the company, in essence half the peers were ladies pre-empting the constitutional changes to allow such a situation by over a century.

I attended on first night where there were a few glitches but nothing that would not be cleared up in the succeeding performances.

The fairies were young and beautiful, certainly they were from the Circle where I sat, The Queen of the Fairies (Ellie Peberdy) was Regal and Iolanthe (Roz Chalk) was, as the script requires,   too young to have a handsome son like Strephon ( Michael Hastings).. The Peers and Peeresses looked and sounded very regal and then we had Phyllis (Sophie Hill) and two cheeky chappies in the form of the Lord Chancellor ( Michael Faulkner) and Private Willis (Michael Hawkins) .

In all, a good well rounded show with sound principals, the limelight was, as is expected in G & S, stolen by the antics of The Lord Chancellor and it was a delight to watch Michael Faulkner unravel Fairy Law. The President of the Society , Michael Hawkins was there to welcome me on my arrival at the Theatre and then he opened Act 2 as   Private Willis with his philosophical  “When all night long a chap remains…” suitably embellished to incorporate all current politicians and political groupings. 

The scenery was special, a houses of parliament which lit up was a splendid background, the costumes too were very apt, I especially liked the way the fairy wings lit up.

In conclusion, an enjoyable evenings entertainment.

Michael Hastilow

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