“Iolanthe” by St Peter’s G&S Society
Ravenshead Village Hall

Also known as “The Peer & The Peri” is one of W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan’s finest comic operas. I first saw Iolanthe a few years ago and loved it and like Shakespeare it gets better with age. Also like Shakespeare's works you can have a bit of a mess around with it and keep it fresh for new audiences which is what Director, and Gilbert & Sullivan expert Stephen Godward has done.

Stephen has slightly tweaked some of the script to bring it up to date, and with this particular piece being heavily political, well you can imagine the fun that has been had!

Iolanthe, who is a fairy, has been banished from fairyland because she married a mortal; this is forbidden by fairy law. Her son, Strephon, is a shepherd who wants to marry Phyllis, a Ward of Chancery. All the members of the House of Peers also want to marry Phyllis. When Phyllis sees Strephon hugging a young woman (not knowing that it is his mother – immortal fairies all appear young), she assumes the worst and sets off a climactic confrontation between the peers and the fairies.

Now, the first thing that hits you with this production is the wonderful set. Designed by Mike Tipler and Stephen Godward and brilliantly painted by Mike Tipler and Steve Andrews. It is a lovely summery snapshot of a gurgling stream, wild flowers and the countryside with a large clock face.

The music is provided by pianist Piotr Wisniewski, whose work local theatre buffs may know from the Lace Market Theatre in Nottingham.

Musical Director is Stephen Wall, who has the most impressive of beards that I have seen since ZZ Top!

There are some nice sound effects as well mixed in.

St Peter’s G&S Society are a brilliant company who specialise in the works of Gilbert & Sullivan, and that love of these two shine through their work.

Their comedy is sharp and their singing is powerful and expressive, drawing all the individual emotions from every piece they perform.

It would be unfair for me to highlight any one of these performers because they, as a whole, are just so entertaining.

Tony Pinchbeck (Lord Chancellor), Andrew Halfpenny (Earl Tolloller), Andrew Rushton (Strephon), Dave Lee (Corporal Willis), Stephen Walker (Earl Mountararat), Rachel Wass (Phyllis), Helen Kirk (Iolanthe), Georgie Lee (Queen), Jane Stubbs (Celia), Val Green (Leila) and Phoebe Halfpenny (Fleta) were all excellent fun to see. These though do not include the choruses of Fairies or Peers.

The costumes were absolutely wonderful, full of fairy lights and magic, and you could tell that a great deal of hard work and thought had gone into getting these made.

Only a couple of things in this show made me think twice; the first was the Irish accent, which was a bit nomadic, and the patter song was slightly stumbled. You really have to nail that patter song because of its' speed and the quantity of lyrics within. It's not an easy ask, and I think that unless you know the song, from an audience point of view, the slight stumble would have gone completely unnoticed.

I know, picky picky picky me!

Seriously though, I loved it and it just goes to show that great comedy is timeless and the St. Peter's Gilbert & Sullivan Society prove that this week.

“Iolanthe” is at Ravenshead Village Hall until Saturday 23 February 2019 with a Saturday matinee at 2.30pm.