IOLANTHE or THE PEER AND THE PERI. To 16 February 2008
London.
IOLANTHE or THE PEER AND THE PERI
music by Arthur Sullivan book and lyrics by W S Gilbert.
Gielgud Theatre To 16 February 2008.
Mon-Sat 7:30 Mat Wed & Sat 2:30pm.
Runs 2hr 30 min One interval.
TICKETS: 0844 482 5130.
www.delfontmackintosh.co.uk
Review: Geoff Ambler 12 February 2008.
Operetta meets Westminster Nights Dream for another Gilbert and Sullivan treat.
Opening in a forest full of bewinged fairies “Tripping hither, tripping thither”, Gilbert and Sullivan’s Iolanthe arrives on Shaftesbury Avenue with a multitude of gossamer-winged Arcadian delights.
Iolanthe merges the fantastical world of the fairies with the even more fantastical world of the House of Lords, producing always bizarre results in an operetta so abundant with lyrical understated wit and cynical wisdom that it provides endless opportunities for mirth.
This story centres on Strephon (Karl Daymond) an Arcadian Shepherd, son of the Fairy Iolanthe (Sophie-Louise Dann) and a human father. Through this unorthodox union Strephon grows up a Half-Fairy “Fairy down to the waist, but whose legs are mortal” and seeks to marry the Lord High Chancellor's ward, Phyllis (Charlotte Page). Gilbert’s masterful gift for twisting a plot betwixt romance and political farce leaves nothing is as it seems and our lovers meet anguish and turmoil before the curtain finally falls.
Looming over the Fairy delights is Maria Ewing's Queen, the epitome of regal aloofness and over-dramatic pouting. Bruce Graham and Barry Clark are the bombastic Earls, who duel (verbally) so adroitly with cutting compliments and more barbed wit. While Daymond cuts the mustard as Strephon, the stout Arcadian with tousled hair and dour passion, he is just a little wet. As his love Charlotte Page is an angelic delight and Sophie-Louise Dann is always wonderfully melodic with operatic vivacity in abundance.
Steven Page assumes the role of Lord Chancellor with aplomb and enjoys a highly entertaining discussion with himself, when he tries to convince himself that he should allow himself to marry his ward. Another Gilbert and Sullivan delight.
Peter Mulloy’s direction allows the chorus of Peers and Fairies countless opportunity to entertain, and they do it splendidly. While Mulloy's thinking stays firmly in the box when it comes to the design, the Victorian tableau suits Iolanthe and Steve Elias’ choreography is both lordly and spritely, the opening number simply glorious.
The Lord Chancellor: Steven Page.
Earl of Mountararat: Bruce Graham.
Earl Tolloller: Barry Clark.
Private Willis: Donald Maxwell, Gareth Jones (13 & 14 Feb).
Strephon: Karl Daymond.
Queen of the Fairies: Maria Ewing.
Iolanthe: Sophie-Louise Dann.
Fairies:
Ceila: Lesley Cox.
Leila: Victoria Ward.
Fleta: Jane Quinn.
Phyllis: Charlotte Page.
Chorus of Dukes, Marquises, Earls, Viscounts, Barons and Fairies:
Amy Pedwell, Betsy Pennington, Curtis Dabek, David Furnell, Francesca Ellis, Fred Broom, Martin Milnes, Melanie Lodge, Michael Kerry, Ross Finnie, Ted Schnitz, Toby Hunt, Deborah Crowe, Anna Lowe, Carmen Vass, David Faulds, Ian Caddick.
Director/ Designer: Peter Mulloy.
Choreographer: Steve Elias.
2008-02-16 11:09:40