NODA Report
From the entrance of Rachel Roper as Fleta, to the final curtain, I laughed. As Oscar Wilde said “life imitates art” and the send-up of the House of Lords could have been written for today’s Government. Alan Durman as the Lord Chancellor was enthusiastic and energetic and he is a true master of patter. The chorus numbers were extremely strong and very well performed and the lighting for the show really gave it a magical feel. I particularly liked Laura Durman, Megan Dennis and Rachel as the three lead Fairies who were mischievous and very funny; how they sang whilst ‘cheer leading’ I will never know. Hannah Roper’s debut as Phyllis was remarkable for one so young and Gill Haslam as Fairy Queen and Karen Spooner in the title role of Iolanthe were so right for the roles they were lovely. Cliff Spooner and Jim Smith as the Peers were great, especially during their song with Alan. Ian Roper as Strephon although slightly out of his comfort zone gave a solid performance, but one of the gems of the evening was Adam Whittall as Private Willis. The cast beamed throughout and it rubbed off on the audience who loved it.
Louise Hickey, NODA