Iolanthe

It isn’t often that we get a family production team but here we had brother, sister and dad pulling the strings. There were some nice touches in this offering too.

Emma Jones was a delight as she effortlessly sang her way through the role of Phylllis and she was well partnered by Liam Simkins as Strephon. Mac Hammond (Mountararat) and Gary Gentle (Tolloller) gave well tempered characterisations with both of them displaying strong singing and acting ability. I also liked Adrian Davies-Radcliffe’s portrayal of Private Willis. There was a solid performance from Ethan Cruxton as The Lord Chancellor and Sue Rogers did justice to the part of The Fairy Queen. There was strong support from Ruth Shelley, Ellyn Cruxton, Bethan Harris and Lydia Stephenson as mischievous fairies. Philippa Cruxton as Iolanthe delivered her pleading to the Chancellor beautifully and with conviction. The singing from both the men’s and ladies’ chorus was confident and strong particularly the lengthy Peer’s Chorus “Loudly Let the Trumpet Bray.”

There was sympathetic accompaniment from the trio featuring piano, keyboard and bass under the direction of Sam Noakes. The set was good as were the costumes. My only criticism was that some principals sang to the floor or the wings instead of the audience but otherwise well done!

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