Director’s Notes
Welcome to the NSLOS production of Iolanthe! I have been enthralled by the work of Gilbert & Sullivan since the age of 12, when my father first played for me a recording of The Pirates of Penzanze - on records, if you remember them. For my next birthday, I asked for the record sets of HMS Pinafore and The Mikado, and, for many birthdays following, a new D’Oyly Carte boxed set was always one of my presents. By the time I was sixteen, I owned a complete set of G&S records, likely pointing to an obsessive interest in these masters of the English operetta stage. To be honest, probably not my only obsession - ask me about “Doctor Who” sometime - but certainly one of my favourites, and Iolanthe is a favourite among favourites. By the time they created this operetta in 1882, G&S were at the height of their creative powers, having already written HMS Pinafore and The Pirates of Penzanze, with The Mikado and The Gondoliers still to come. Adding to the excitement of the show was the fact that the theatre in which it was being produced, the Savoy Theatre, had just become the first theatre in the world to be wired with those new-fangled, electric lights. Not a few customers arrived either hoping or fearing that they were about to witness some awful calamity. No such calamity occurred, fortunately, and Iolanthe would go on to see 398 performances in that initial run. Exquisitely tuneful and frequently hilarious, Gilbert straddles two worlds in this operetta, with the Fairy chorus firmly in his whimsical fantasy mode and the dialogue containing some of his most pointed and specific criticisms of the government of the day. In the middle of a Canadian minority Parliament, it was difficult to read of “Liberals and Conservatives” from the 1880’s and not see the continued relevance of the show, which led quickly to the decision to stage this production loosely in the modern era. Which brings us to today. So sit back; open your ears and prepare to submerge yourself in the world of Iolanthe! Oh - and if anybody misses the excitement of the original opening night, we are available to electrocute audience members on request.
Matthew Bissett
Synopsis
In Act I, the fairies who inhabit Arcady, a rustic Utopia, are bored. As the scene opens, they long for their sister Iolanthe, whose death sentence for marrying a mortal was commuted by the Fairy Queen to life banishment, on condition that she never again see her husband. The Queen relents and Iolanthe rises from the pool where she has lived for 25 years in order to be near Strephon, her son. Despite not having the Lord Chancellor's required consent, he intends to marry Phyllis, a ward in Chancery who knows nothing of his fairyhood. The Fairy Queen offers to use her influence to help Strephon become a Member of Parliament. Phyllis arrives and the scene ends as the two lovers sing of their love for each other. When the stage empties, the Peers enter in pomp, followed by the "highly susceptible" Lord Chancellor, who is to approve Phyllis' choice of Peer for her husband. While they tout their respective virtues to her, she spurns them and rushes into Strephon's arms, prompting the Peers to leave indignantly. When the Lord Chancellor refuses Strephon's petition, Iolanthe enters to promise to enlist the help of the Queen of the Fairies. The act's finale begins with Phyllis misinterpreting Strephon's tete-â-tete with Iolanthe, renouncing him while the male entourage derides him for claiming such a young-looking lady as his mother. Distraught, Strephon appeals to the fairies, who trip onto the scene with their Queen. She, attempting to convince the Peers of her authority, vows to use her powers to subjugate Parliament through Strephon, and the act ends in a defiant tableau.
In Act II, we come upon Brock Willis alone outside the House of Peers preparing to do a live BBC broadcast and pondering the state of Parliament. Enter the fairies and Peers, respectively praising and denouncing the effect Strephon has had on parliamentary proceedings, but, as time passes, revealing some mutual attraction. When the Peers leave in a fit of pique, the fairies linger as the Queen sorrowfully reveals her admiration for Brock Willis. Mountararat and Tolloller, Phyllis' most ardent suitors, find she objects to high rank, so they defer to each other and somewhat ungallantly forgo their suits "in friendship's name". Not so the Lord Chancellor who, replacing them on stage, recounts the nightmare produced by his susceptibility to Phyllis. The two lords return to encourage him to woo Phyllis himself, before they all leave.
Phyllis, arriving with Strephon, learns of his fairyhood and forgives his apparent philandering. He in turn learns of his parentage from Iolanthe, who proceeds to intercede with the Lord Chancellor. Just as she prepares once again to sacrifice her life, all complications rapidly resolve themselves as all appear on stage to present a joyous grand finale.
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