Mar
9
By Sarah Pugh
Tripping hither, tripping thither, nobody knows why or whither... There are a lot of inexplicable goings-on in the latest production of “Iolanthe” from Victoria's Gilbert & Sullivan Society. Why would an immortal fairy fall in love with a stodgy British parliamentarian? And why would the offspring of such a union be half fairy – but just the top half? (“I'm a fairy down to the waist, but my legs are mortal!”)
Iolanthe is a classic operetta (comic opera) written by William Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan – part pure silly, part biting satire. Iolanthe, the title character, is a fairy who has been banished for the dire sin of marrying a mortal. But, because she was popular and all the other fairies loved her, the Fairy Queen is persuaded to lift Iolanthe's banishment and return her to Fairy society – partly because she never intended for Iolanthe to serve out her banishment at the bottom of a stream, as she has. Explaining that she only did that in order to be close to her son, Iolanthe introduces the fairies (and the audience) to her son Strephon, an “Arcadian shepherd”, and his somewhat troubled life. Strephon is about to elope with Phyllis, a pretty maid, who is also the target of much matrimonial scheming by (it seems) the entire House of Lords.
What follows is a romp of misunderstandings, political grandstanding, face-saving, and romance, as Phyllis' affections are toyed with, Strephon is elevated to Parliament, the Fairy Queen is forced to confront the very desirable aspects of mortals, and everyone possibly lives happily ever after. The music is as catchy, bubbly and joyous now as it was when first written in the late 1800s and, while the skewering of the House of Lords may be a little dated, there are still some caricatures and commentary that ring true of modern political life.
The production is directed by Jennifer Hoener, with choreography by Heather Elaine-Day. Iolanthe premieres at the Charlie White theatre in Sidney with shows March 20, 21 and 22, and then moves to the MacPherson Theatre in Victoria for shows March 28 and 29. For show times and tickets, please visit the Victoria Gilbert and Sullivan Society website: http://gilbertandsullivanvictoria.ca/.