Carl Rosa Company, Theatre Royal, Bath
Iolanthe was Gilbert and Sullivan's seventh opera and was written when they were at the peak of their creativity.

Gilbert chose to target the aristocracy and the law in his satirical librettos, whilst it contains some of Sullivan's most catchy music.

The plot and characters are pretty whimsical and airy. Iolanthe, a fairy, committed the capital offence of marrying a mortal and has been banished from Fairyland for life. She also gave birth to the mortal's son, Strephon, who, as a result, is half mortal, half fairy.

Once Iolanthe is pardoned by the Queen of the fairies she tells of her delight concerning her son's upcoming marriage to shepherdess, Phyllis.

Problems occur when it turns out that every member of the House of Lords is also in love with Phyllis. The fairies then punish the Lords by sending Strephon to Parliament and casting a spell that makes all the peers pass any bill that Strephon wants.

A number of silly songs and dialogue lead up to a predictably happy ending.

This production was as bouncy and amiable as any audience member could have hoped for. The fairies were giggly, their costumes alone are worth a mention for they were very eyecatching, and each performer made her mark with giddy and girlish banter.

The Lords made up for light fairy banter with their pomposity and boys club mentality. All the cast put great style behind their performances and all the voices were superb. Julian Fosyth as the Lord Chancellor brought a great deal of humour to his role and any scene with him in seemed to have that little bit of extra fun.

Other notable performances also came from Charlotte Page and Giles Davies who played Phyllis and Strephon, the lovers. Also Nuala Willis made the most of her role as Queen of the Fairies with her impressive costume and winks to the audience.

Iolanthe contains a great number of catchy songs and the dialogue raised titters throughout the show.

Abby Sparrow