Iolanthe

As one of Gilbert and Sullivan’s most well-known shows, Iolanthe has been presented by this society a number of times in the past and I’m sure this production was well up to the standard of the previous ones.

Some very good performances were given with Caroline King excellent as Phyllis.  She looked good, has a lovely voice and, relative to my hobby horse, her diction was a treat on the ears.  Opposite her was John Lamb as Strephon and he played the part well.  Steve Aylmer was very strong as Lord Tolloller, well backed up by Philip King (Lord Mountararat) and Gordon Smethurst (the Lord Chancellor).  Val Marshall gave us what was needed in her role as the Fairy Queen and I was really impressed by the performances of Alice Giblin (Iolanthe) and Joseph Marshall (Private Willis).  It is wonderful to see younger members of a society being given a chance to perform big roles and they can both be very proud of themselves.

There were some super portrayals of smaller roles, especially from the Fairies and, overall, this traditional production brought out a good deal of humour, some of which could be relevant today. Some very good singing from a large, enthusiastic cast of Peers and Fairies was well supported by The Kingston Savoy Orchestra.  Notably, no-one in the cast was amplified.

There were two good, colourful sets, one for each half, augmented by expressive use of lighting.  The costumes and wigs were also just right.

This was a very enjoyable production.

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