‘A splendid night of gorgeous entertainment and magic’. That was The Mail’s headline in February 1994 as Barrow Savoyards presented their 22nd Gilbert and Sullivan production.

Robin Twyford directed the ever-popular Iolanthe, a tale of fantasy, fun and love as the House of Peers clashes with the Fairy Kingdom.

The show was staged at Forum 28 and theatre critic Helen Wall was there on opening night and wrote The Mail’s review.

She said that Barrow Savoyards had created just the right world of magic mixed with the absurd.

The curtains opened on a scene from a Victorian child’s pop-up book, a rural idyll peopled by the most cheeky, mischievous, feisty fairies imaginable.

They were led by Sheila Thorne, as a splendid Queen of the Fairies, singing her first major Gilbert and Sullivan role and making the most of the comic opportunities in the part, while Helen Troughton as Iolanthe sang beautifully and lent just the right amount of pathos to the story.

Helen wrote that a touch of casting genius had the three principal fairies, minor roles in themselves, played by three very young actresses - Michelle Larcombe (Celia), Helen Oakley (Leila) and Claire Phipps-Jones (Fleta) - and they were excellent.

The peers, wrote Helen, looked like a crowd of Bertie Wooster’s dafter chums with ‘I say, what!’ accents and gesture down to a T.

Allan Lewis showed comic fun as Strephon, who is in love with Phyllis, played by Anne Woods, whose sparkling voice delighted the audience.

Almost stealing the show were Russell Palmer as the shambling, rather dozy Earl of Mountararat and Iain Nicholson, singing magnificently as foppish Earl Tolloller.

John Twyford was praised for his role as the Lord Chancellor and so was Bill Springthope as Private Willis, whose splendid voice, both singing and speaking, was made the most of.

The show moved at an ideal pace and Peter Dyer handled a nicely-balanced orchestra.