Show Publicity Materials

Important details: "Iolanthe runs from 30th April - 3rd May 2008 at the RNCM on Oxford Road. Tickets are from £5, available from tickets@mugss.org or visit www.mugss.org/show for more details."

Poster:

A4 version for printing, A3, or the biggest version

Below are publicity materials for society members to promote the show.

Manchester Universities' Gilbert and Sullivan Society proudly presents Iolanthe; or, the Peer and the Peri at the Royal Northern College of Music (Oxford Road, Manchester; April 30th-May 3rd 2008).

A story of love, politics and misunderstandings, Iolanthe is one of the most well-known of Gilbert and Sullivan's operettas with gorgeous music and enchanting characters. MUGSS transports this production nearly one hundred years later into 1960s Britain, keeping all the vibrancy of the show as we visually update it for a modern audience. The bright flower fairies and bumbling archaic peers representing the spirit of change will enthral, and the witty dialogue is as funny and relevant as it was when first produced.

Strephon's fairy mother, Iolanthe, is banished at his birth for marrying a mortal - an act of mercy from the Fairy Queen, as Fairy law demands that the punishment is death. 20 years later, and the Queen agrees to Iolanthe's return. Strephon, his legs mortal while his upper half remains fairy, is engaged to the mortal Phyllis, a ward of the Lord Chancellor. When Phyllis catches him embracing his mother, mistaking her for a 17 year old love rival, the wedding is off. Phyllis turns instead to her guardian and the House of Lords to provide a husband.

The Fairy Queen speaks up for Strephon, appointing him a member of Parliament, along with other punishments - ending their expense accounts, and appointing Lords by competitive examination. The Fairies become enamoured of the Lords, despite Fairy law stating it's death to marry a mortal — but on the other hand The Queen herself find Private Willis strangely appealing?

Secrets are finally revealed -who is Strephon's father? Will the fairies be forced to choose between death or living apart from their lovers? Can Phyllis forgive Strephon and accept that whenever he embraces a young woman, she is really an elderly fairy relative?

Established in 1951, MUGSS is renowned for its award-winning inventive interpretations of G&S, bringing these Victorian classics to a new appreciative audience with energy and vivacity. Tickets are on sale now from the RNCM or www.mugss.org, from £8.

A4 version for printing, A3, or the biggest version