A production that has wowed audiences since 1882 is being tackled by Isle of Wight amateur dramatic group GASP (Gilbert and Sullivan Productions).

Iolanthe lives in Fairyland but makes pointed observations about society, proving some things haven’t changed in the last 150-odd years.

Fairyland has its own customs and laws, one of which is punishment of death for any fairy who marries a mortal.

Iolanthe did just that, but unable to bring herself to enact the death penalty, the Fairy Queen banished her.

After years of living at the bottom of a stream in the real world, Iolanthe is pardoned and returns to Fairyland.

But she needs to stay in contact with her son Strephon, and introduces him to her fairy sisters.

Strephon’s top half is fairy, while his legs are human – a secret he has not shared with his beloved Phyllis, with whom he plans to elope in defiance of her guardian, the Lord Chancellor, who disapproves of the match.

This new production of Iolanthe will be staged at Bembridge Village Hall on September 21, 22 and 23 at 7.30pm, with a 2.30pm matinee on September 24.

Tickets are available from ticketsource.co.uk/gasp or call 07543 673117. 

The Lord Chancellor meanwhile, while rather fancying Phyllis himself, plans to marry her off to one of his rich, titled, old and, well, ugly colleagues in the House of Lords.

He cannot understand why Phyllis would rather marry a young, strong, handsome shepherd than a wealthy Peer of the Realm…..

However, Phyllis changes her mind when she sees Strephon familiarly chatting to a young lady – he tries in vain to convince her, and the peers, that ‘the lady is my mother’ – but of course the fairy Iolanthe never ages, so she looks younger than her own son.

Strephon calls on his fairy aunts for help, and the fairy and human worlds will never be quite the same again….