I am delighted to share the rehearsal images for Sasha Regan’s all-male Iolanthe which embarks on an exciting UK tour next month.
Images courtesy of Buckingham Photography.
A dynamic all-male cast have been announced for the return of Sasha Regan’s most critically acclaimed production, Iolanthe – one of Gilbert and Sullivan’s most famous operettas.
Torches flash in the darkness as a party of naughty schoolboys adventure into the magical surroundings of an old theatre. Amid all the backstage paraphernalia they discover a Narnia-like wardrobe and a dusty copy of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Iolanthe. What follows is pure magic!
Universally regarded as Sir Arthur Sullivan’s most beautiful score, Iolanthe is a topsy-turvy love story between the most unlikely of couples… fairies and members of the House of Lord’s! Sasha Regan’s inimitable inventiveness combined with Gilbert and Sullivan’s inherent barminess make for an unmissable night out.
Sasha Regan comments, Iolanthe is a beautiful piece to direct and I can’t wait to revisit it after nearly eight years. Mark Smith and I wanted to make a world of elegant and magical fairies so Mark, as a deaf choreographer, has incorporated sign language into all the movement - it’s definitely a challenge for the company to learn but the end result is worth it. This is a hilarious and tender piece that is simply a joy to direct.
When it premiered in 2011 Iolanthe was nominated for numerous Off West End Awards - Best Director, Best Choreographer, Best Production, Best Costume Design and Best Male Performance. Iolanthe broke all box office records on its transfer to Wilton’s Music Hall in 2011.
Brought to you by the same team who created the award winning, all-male The Pirates of Penzance, this absurdly silly but sweetly touching version of Iolanthe is a comic pleasure. If there is a message, it is that everyone needs to release their inner fairy... Irresistible (* * * * The Guardian).
Running time 2 hours 25 minutes
Box Office Tickets are available from individual theatre box offices.
Age Guidance 6+
Twitter @allmaleiolanthe
Website http://www.rdww.co.uk/
Director Sasha Regan
Choreographer Mark Smith
Original Design Stewart Charlesworth
Tour Set Design Kingsley Hall
Producers Regan De Wynter Williams
Casting Director Adam Braham
Fairy Queen Richard Russell Edwards
Iolanthe Christopher Finn
Strephon Richard Carson
Celia Dominic Harbison
Leila Jamie Jukes
Phylliss Joe Henry
Private Willis Duncan Sandilands
Lord T Adam Pettit
Lord M Michael Burgen
Chancellor Alastair Hill
Ensemble/Fairy Ben Mundy
Ensemble/Fairy Reece Budin
Ensemble/Fairy Jack Hinton
Ensemble/Lord Daniel Miles
Ensemble/Lord Sam Kipling
Ensemble/Lord James Gulliford
Performance Dates:
30th April – 5th May Theatre Royal Winchester
Jewry Street, Winchester, SO23 8SB
11th - 12th May Hall for Cornwall
Back Quay, Truro, TR1 2LL
15th – 19th May Richmond Theatre
Little Green, Richmond TW9 1QJ
21st – 22nd May Theatre Royal Windsor
32 Thames Street, Windsor, SL4 1PS
28th – 30th May East Riding Theatre
10 Lord Roberts Rd, Beverley HU17 9BE
31st May – 2nd June Bridlington Spa
South Marine Drive, Bridlington, YO15 3JH
5th – 9th June Exeter Northcott Theatre
Stocker Road, Exeter, Devon, EX4 4QB
12th – 16th June Theatre Royal Bath
Sawclose, Bath, BA1 1ET
19th – 23rd June Theatre Royal Brighton
New Road, Brighton, BN1 1SD
3rd – 7th July Cambridge Arts Theatre
6 St Edward's Passage, Cambridge, CB2 3PJ
10th – 14th July Festival Theatre Malvern
Grange Road, Malvern, WR14 3HB
19th – 21st July Theatre Severn
Frankwell Quay, Shrewsbury, SY3 8FT
23rd – 28th July Greenwich Theatre
Crooms Hill, London SE10 8ES
Regan De Wynter Williams
Regan De Wynter is a producing house established in 2008. Ben De Wynter and Sasha Regan are both directors and producers who have worked together and independently for over seventeen years. They toured the UK with Sasha’s critically acclaimed The Pirates of Penzance gaining a reputation for reinventing G&S in a “hysterically funny, delightful and utterly timeless” way. The production won Best Off-West End Production 2010 at the WhatsOnStage Awards 2010, transferring to the beautiful Wilton’s Music Hall and then onto The Rose Theatre in Kingston. It toured Australia in Autumn 2012 culminating in a three-week run at Sydney Theatre. Then followed UK tours of HMS Pinafore (2014 and 2016) and last year The Mikado. Other productions include: Annie Get Your Gun (Critics Choice), The Pajama Game (Critics Choice), Sweeney Todd (Evening Standard and Time Out Critics Choice & Sunday Express Top), Company, Assassins which won Best Production at the Offies in 2011, Absent Friends, Joking Apart, A Man of No Importance (Sunday Express Best Musical 2009) with Olivier award-winning Paul Clarkson which transferred to the Arts Theatre, Iolanthe (Critic’s Choice) at The Union and Wilton’s Music Hall, The Baker’s Wife with Michael Matus and Dames at Sea with Rosemary Ashe. Their critically acclaimed production of Chess, was a sell out at The Union Theatre. Past Offie nominations include: Lizzi Gee for Best Choreographer in HMS Pinafore, Best Female Lead and Musical Production (On a Clear Day You can See Forever), Best Director and Production (Billy), Best Choreographer (Chess) and Best Producer and Artistic Director - Sasha Regan.
In 2015 Regan De Wynter joined forces with Hilary and Stuart Williams, constant supporters of their work, to form Regan De Wynter Williams Productions, which has seen the company tour The Pirates of Penzance, H.M.S. Pinafore and The Mikado.
Following Iolanthe, the critically Salad Days will commence its UK Tour in September 2018 – dates are to be announced. For further information please go to www.rdww.co.uk.
