IOLANTHE'S KNIGHT IN SHINING (SILVER ?) ARMOUR.

[After I and a number of others have been so beastly about the Jubilee Iolanthe it is rather refreshing to find a gallant young man leaping to her defence. IAN CARRUTHERS, as will be obvious from the below, is an expert on the minutae of variations in DOC productions - the sort of expertise we could do with a lot more of these days. Ed.] I disagree completely with the views of most of your correspondents on the subject of the "new" Iolanthe. I found it to be the best DOC production I have seen. Recently it has been spoiled. As Iolanthe now comes from the back of the stage, this makes the bridge obsolete. I rather liked the way Jane Metcalf's hand crept over the edge of the bridge before she appeared. The ripple effect which you claimed not to see in Act 2, was present, but I think it was only for the first week. This added a nice touch, which I miss. Act 1 is now a worse mess than The Gondoliers! The gauze which used to rise on the Fairy Queen's first line has been moved from the bottom to the top of the ramps, and a large hole has been cut in it by the right ramp. When Iolanthe enters, the area behind the gauze is lit by a harsh white light. Phyllis now sits on a little silver bench (which trundles in from the wings) during her duet with Strephon. This then moves out during the entrance of the Peers. In Act 2, Pat Leonard now sprinkles glitter over Ken Sandford when she makes him into a fairy. I liked this, but it should have been swept up, because it gave a most odd effect during the dance trip. I hope Meston Reid does not take over Tolloller permanently because he made a mess of the accent. Finally the two Peers new have the same sort of spring-out wings as Ken Sandford. This is better, although one night John Ayldon lost his. IAN CARRUTHERS

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