Iolanthe and Die Fledermaus at the Market Theatre in Ledbury (From Malvern Gazette)

Iolanthe and Die Fledermaus at the Market Theatre in Ledbury

3:11pm Monday 1st March 2010

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A LOCAL amateur dramatic group will perform works by Arthur Sullivan and Johann Strauss the Younger this month.

Sullivan to Strauss will feature an adapted version of Iolanthe, which relates the forest meeting between fairies Leila and Celia.

They tell the story of how Iolanthe, once the life and soul of Fairyland, was banished 25-years ago for marrying a mortal. Now, pardoned by the Fairy Queen, she returns, still a beautiful young woman but with a 24-year-old son, Strephon, who is half fairy, half mortal. He is in love with Phyllis, as is her guardian, the rather susceptible Lord Chancellor, and the entire House of Peers.

Phyllis has no idea that Strephon is half a fairy, so when she sees him being affectionate with “young” Iolanthe, (his mother) she completely gets the wrong end of the stick. For a while, these complications wreak havoc as the band of immortal fairies find themselves at odds with the House of Peers, especially as Strephon, with the aid of the Fairy Queen, has now entered Parliament himself.

The Strauss part of the programme is act two of Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss the Younger.

The plot centres on Dr Falke’s revenge for a practical joke played on him by his friend Eisenstein, which is realised at a flamboyant party at Prince Orlovsky’s villa. Falke has persuaded Eisenstein’s wife Rosalinda to masquerade as a Hungarian Countess and, not recognising her, Eisenstein (who is supposed to be in prison) flirts with the “mysterious woman”, who manages to extract a valuable watch from her husband which she can use in the future as evidence of his impropriety.

Also at the party is Rosalinda’s flirtatious maid Adele, pretending to be an actress, and Frank the governor of the prison where Eisenstein should be serving his sentence.

Sullivan to Strauss and will be performed at the Market Theatre, Ledbury, on March 11, 12 and 13, before moving to No. 8 in Pershore on Saturday, March 20, with all performances from 7.30pm.

Tickets for Ledbury, at £7 each, can be obtained by calling 01531 636 147 and for Pershore, at £10 each, on 01386 555488.

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