Review (Iolanthe - 2009)

Submitted bynitirowi onMon, 02/11/2019 - 20:12
Derbyshire Times - Thursday, June 18, 2009

Peerless performance is a vote winner...

Gay Bolton Reproduced by permission of the Derbyshire Times

Fairies and peers - the former a make-belief which you outgrow in adulthood, the latter you may believe have outlived their usefulness in today's society.

The coupling of fairy kingdom and political chamber provides the foundations for one of Gilbert and Sullivan's strangest creations, Iolanthe. But can a work first performed 127 years ago when Whigs stalked the corridors of power and the Labour Party had yet to be born have any relevance to today's society?

Step forward Matlock Gilbert and Sullivan Society which, with a wave of its magic wand, managed to conjure up a work that was topical while staying true to the roots of the comic opera. This vote-winning production at Bakewell's Medway Centre last week took liberties with the libretto, poked fun at politicians past and present and ran fairy rings around any other amateur version of Iolanthe that I'd previously watched. Priceless scenes saw Susan Devaney as the Fairy Queen transform from a soft and gentle chief to a tough-talking Margaret Thatcher-esque leader as she delivered a manifesto of no expenses, lower pensions and congestion charges. Chris Kraushaar as Lord Mountararat resembled Labour's answer to Boris Johnson, a dodgy blond wig and slightly crumpled suit captured the Mayor of London to a tee.

A masterstroke saw the fairies transformed into militant members of the WI, a good move because dressing ladies of a certain age in floaty chiffon and glitter looks wrong, even at panto time. These 'fairies' wore pearls, carried handbags containing guidebooks on Derbyshire tourist attractions and were dressed in the most sensible of outfits. But the fairy image wasn't eradicated completely. Young Elizabeth Blades was the epitome of pretty fairy with attitude, beautiful costume and glitter in her hair, and cheeky with it, poking her tongue out at figures of authority.

Elizabeth's grandfather Max Taylor is always a powerful force on stage and his characterisation of the Tory grandee Lord Tolloller was no exception. From leading his party in a forceful Tarantara chant to their Labour opponents (the outstanding scene of the show) to his verbal jousting with his opposition equal, this was one of Max's finest performances with the society. And his orchestration of a piece, dropped from the original production of Iolanthe, but inserted into a different part of Matlock G&S's production, fitted so well into the show that you couldn't spot the join.

Forbidden

While satirising the country's law-makers, describing politicians as 'leaving their brains at the door', Iolanthe is also a tale of forbidden love between half-man, half mortal Strephon and the ward of court Phyllis. These substantial roles were played by show director Nic Wilson and Lesley Kraushaar whose voices blended beautifully in some of the show's trademark ballads. Nic brought fresh spirit to his characterisation of Strephon and even slipped in an update or two - substituting the word Socialists for the original Radicals and sporting a tie in the colour of a Lib-Dem representative instead of a Whig.

Dressed like a Sloane Ranger, Lesley packed plenty of emotion into her role, swtiching between love and flirtatiousness, happiness and anger. Society newcomer Simon Reynolds, who played the Lord Chancellor, coped well with his baptism of fire. He brought plenty of comedy to his role, dancing around with tremendous energy or being involved in a frantic chase around stiff-upper-lipped peers. Simon rose to the challenge of the notoriously difficult 'patter' song with spot-on timing and faultless delivery, although, through no fault of his own, the volume of the musical accompaniment made it hard for spectators to hear every word of this.

Simon's partner Emma Waterhouse played the title role of Iolanthe. A good singing voice was matched by quality acting in a small, but perfectly formed, first appearance with the society. And like all good fairy stories, Emma's lolanthe was even the subject of magic -being transformed in just seconds from downhearted dowdy mum in full-length wax jacket and wellies to radiant hippy chick in floral dress and sandals. This production featured a number of performers from Chesterfield G&S Society including Anne Turner who sang the part of fairy Fleta beautifully and David Stokes who towered over the fairies as the comical police officer Sgt Willis.

Accompanying music was stunning, but it was in the lengthy overture that the nine players in the orchestra, conducted by Melanie Gilbert, really got to show off their talents. The biggest challenge now facing Matlock Gilbert and Sullivan Society is how to top this peerless reinvention of Iolanthe.