Based on Iolanthe by Gilbert and Sullivan

Additional Lyrics by Lewis Eggeling 

Script by Fraser Grant and Rosalyn Harper

Directed by Hunter King

Tickets from £10.00

In an age where the dying guttural roars of the past clamber onto their grip of the world, it’s only right to put faith into newer generations to manipulate, parody, and toy with the tried and tested established greats to emerge with freshness and a way forward for our entertainment. And to infuse the often-stuffy world of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Iolanthe with a battle of ages between fat-cat bureaucrats and eco-warrior fairies is a fitting way to channel 21st-century satire which represents and modifies it into a fitting eco-opera, Biolanthe, maintaining the brilliance of the original score before it’s too late.

Because what’s the point in art and music if there’s no one around to hear it?

Impressively, the team of Lewis Eggeling, Rosalyn Harper, and Fraser Grant remain integral to the overall plot of the original Iolanthe, instead focusing on an ‘update’ to modern ears and insights with Eggeling’s lyricism offers some insight into creative comedy and wit. It shows a firm grasp of Gilbert’s libretto, as Rosalyn and Grant’s scripting refrain from rocking the boat too heavily – even with amusing inclusions and substitutions cropping up to various degrees of success.

Love blossoms between Phyllis, an online influencer (who has long hung up the Shepard’s crook of old) and the half-mortal son of the titular (B)Iolanthe, called Strephon. But expectantly, their love faces trials and opposition, chiefly from Phyllis’ keeper, the Lord Chancellor (as grotesque as they sound), who takes a fancy to his teenage ward. Politics runs through the blue blood of the production, with plenty of lampooning digs at the unelected nature of British politics and the continuing absurdities of cronyism and privilege that offer plenty of laughs.

And comedy is the main armament of the show’s changes, while a sharp one, leaves other elements dulled. But where the comedy succeeds, it hits the mark hard: right from the off with a climate protest breaking the immersion of the show in a nice tongue-in-cheek moment to the numerous high-budget productions which have found themselves at the ire of the ‘Just Stop’ movements.

Vocally, the operatic elements range from impressive to fitting for the show, which isn’t as easy as some may claim it to be. Any audience who caught the EUSOG’s recent Little Shop of Horrors will be familiar with Thaddeus Buttrey’s rich proficiency of their baritone (verging on bass) vocals, more than this, are complemented by their wonderfully rich comedic timing and self-indulgence that sells the character oh so well, particularly when sharing moments with Jamie Argo’s Lord, who channels all of the likability of performance into a thoroughgoingly unpleasant role, yet still capturing our attention with mirth and playfulness while dressing down all of our recent failures Prime Ministers. 

Atkinson is a stand-out as the Fairy Queen, who conjures a determined place of power, but not without frailty and vulnerability to offer a better insight into the performance beneath it all. They maintain that regal nature through the show, however, a welcoming glow anytime they make it to the stage. Equally, Robertson’s Strephon has quality in their performance, appropriately spritely and bouncing, often a joy to watch and listen to with their rounded baritone. The pair offer some cover for vocals which don’t reach the required performative level, and in more choral sequences helped to flesh out and smooth out numbers. With a fitting facial expression of an irked influencer, Whelan’s Phyllis is certainly fun to watch and brings just the right notes to sell it all as Judelson’s Biolanthe also provides some solid vocals, though struggles a touch with communicating through the performative moments. 

Much thought has gone into the aesthetics of the show, both for a visual impact and a reinforcement of the ecological elements. Costume designers Eloise Robertson and Millie Franchi go above and beyond the cover of each of the faeries in sustainable adornments and trinkets that glisten in that Techcube lighting from Freya White, framed with Azalea Drace’s set It all works for Alix Bruness’ movement and choreography which continues these playful eco-elements of the shows structure and message, though some of the cast struggle with the daintier and faster steps (even if their talents with litter pickers is precise enough). Behind all the footwork and voices is a smaller live orchestra under the familiar name Falk Meier, who helps lift the opera to the needed levels. And a team of three certainly rings out with admiration for Caterina Lue, Katie Rawson, and Lauren Mooney.

With a script that flows with green intentions, EUSOG continues to push forward with creative ideas which pay tribute to the lineage (with over sixty years behind them) they come from while ensuring relevance with contemporary audiences – both those in love with and unfamiliar with the genius of Gilbert & Sullivan. The faeries play the occasional trick on the production, which causes missteps, but there’s still enough power in the vocals, and sharpness in the writing to make up for (most) mistakes, Biolanthe is still a cutting and humorous opera with big and bold characters, achieved with a smaller, enthusiastic, cast.

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