THE D'OYLY CARTE'S "NEW" IOLANTHE Further points

This production seems to me to be a series of blunders and missed opportunities. With so much silver I would have thought there were great opportunities to go to town on the lighting: every theatre they play in this country has first class lighting equipment. But they didn't. They split the first act into two scenes, which is logical, so the first view is of black and silver undergrowth and black and silver fairies, BUT they didn't look like fairies, they looked like witches. Now when the undergrowth is flown, I would have thought it should have revealed a more colourful world; but what was revealed was a massive expanse of dismal grey. The most appalling blunder of all was when John Reed, looking as if he'd just got out of bed, appeared wearing the traditional costume of black and old gold. This was one of the few costumes which has neither been redesigned or renewed; the old gold was worn out and he looked as if he too was dressed in black and silver: which is wrong. In a production which is largely symbolic he should not be associated with the magical world until the scene in Act 2. The whole thing is badly thought out. I ought to say something about the second Act. The difference from Act 1 was that they had taken away most of the silver and added yet more grey. And I couldn't see where it was supposed to be. At the back there is Big Ben (though I doubt if it could be seen from anywhere but the stalls) on the right there was Private Willis, standing on the Embankment. On the left is a glass portico, which I believe could be seen in the eighteenth century, from inside the palace of Westminster. There is nowhere you could stand and see all three items. Taking the symbolism a stage further, this would be perfectly all right; but with Private Willis in his traditional costume, looking every inch a real live, unsymbolic human: the symbolism falls flat. I've only got one point to make about the singing; it's the only group of singers who would be improved by the addition of Florence Foster Jenkins. ROGER THOMPSON

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