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Iolanthe
Malvern Theatres
***** Love makes the world go round and what
better example of this than in Sasha Regan’s Iolanthe at Malvern
Theatres. Immerse yourself in a world where fairies and
members of the House of Lords unite their hearts in this hilarious
tongue in cheek Gilbert and Sullivan opera to make you laugh out loud
and be left wanting more. This topsy-turvy love story begins when a group
of naughty schoolboys run through the auditorium in the darkness armed
with torches. Backstage in an old theatre they discover a dusty copy of
Iolanthe that simply can’t be put down and when fairies emerge singing
‘Tripping Hither, Tripping Thither’ from the Narnia-like wardrobe the
magical telling comes to life in vibrant Technicolor. Iolanthe, performed by Christopher Finn, has been
banished from Fairyland for 25 years after marrying a mortal but finally
the other fairies persuade the Fairy Queen, Richard Russell Edwards, to
allow her to escape the frogs. In this time away from Fairyland Iolanthe has
raised her half mortal, half fairy son Strephon, Richard Carson. His top
half is fairy and his bottom half is mortal so when he falls in love and
wishes to marry Phyllis, Joe Henry, the House of Lords object as they
want her to themselves, even though they know nothing at this point of
his double life. Iolanthe comes to the rescue to help the wedding
go ahead but ends up complicating matters when fiancé Phillis thinks
Strephon’s mother to be his lover as she appears younger than him as
fairies simply don’t age. Act 2 begins with Private Willis, Duncan
Sandilands, as the bass singer, quite a contrast to the high notes sung
by the fairies, with ‘When All Night Long a Chap Remains’. You’ll be pleased to know that there is a happy
ending and the laws are eventually changed so that fairies and mortals
can live together in peace and harmony. The choreography of this production is so slick
by Mark Smith and the whole show had me in stitches and was thoroughly
entertaining throughout. Every part mattered and the all-male cast stood
out individually with special mentions for Celia, Dominic Harbison, and
Leila, Lee Greenaway (also the associate director). To 14-07-18 Emma Trimble 10-07-18 Malvern Theatres 01684 892277 or www.malvern-theatres.co.uk |
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