Parliament falls, fairy magic suspected

Question: What happens when a flutter of fairies take on a swirl of snooty lords? Answer: Music, mayhem and magic in Gilbert & Sullivan’s Iolanthe.

And that mayhem takes the stage at King’s Theatre in Annapolis Royal Saturday, June 7 for a 7:30 p.m. performance.

This delightful musical lampoons inherited wealth and privilege in Victorian England by having a group of fairies take over Parliament. It’s all part of the fairy queen’s plot to bring happiness to a shepherd and his love.

The Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Nova Scotia thinks this show is just about the best they’ve ever presented. The music is stirring and the satire very pointed. The artistic team has set the show in a Victorian fairyland filled with beautiful sprites squaring off against lords in swirling capes. The backdrop is inspired by impressionist paintings, the costumes by Victorian fairytales and the movement by modern dance pioneers. As director/designer Jacqui Good explains, “all these artists were experimenting with the effects of light. We are trying to recapture the Victorian fascination with newly- invented electricity. Look for lights in the fairy hair dos!”

Despite the Victorian setting, the political satire feels contemporary. Who hasn’t complained that government is out of touch with ordinary people?

One interesting addition to this production is a tune called “Fold your Flapping Wings” which was cut from the original show after opening night. Critics complained that its politics were too radical for the time. You’ll want to see Iolanthe for the tune that was ‘too hot for the Victorians to handle’ as well as for the romance, wit and music. You’ll also get to see some of Nova Scotia’s best young singers and dancers at the beginning of their careers.