The show starts with a parlour-maid tidying up. She does not seem very enthusiastic about it and tells us all about the party she is due to attend that night, if only she can get away from the house.

Clearly something must happen to allow her to escape from some drudgery to the excitement of a party.

Like all good operetta the twists and turns of the plot leave the main players in a worse situation. The ernest lover Alfred (shown above) is seeking to woo Rosalinde (shown above) but little does he know that she is married. Her husband Eisenstein has been sent down for bad behaviour but on his last night of freedom for a while his friend Dr Falke suggests he goes to a party. Without a care Eisenstein agrees.

We the audience were treated to a fun filled experience from virtually the moment the players stepped onto the stage. The fabulous music of Johann Strauss II lifted your spirits from the start of the overture until the last note died away at the end.

With an amazing cast of talented singers the show went from good to fabulous. The comic prison warden Frosch brings the audience into the hilarious world of comedy impecably brought up-to-date and into english. They even have an unobtrusive subtitle bar. You may have to lean back a little to read it but the lyrics to the songs are shown.

All I can say is that I have not laughed and laughed at a production in many years. Simply fabulous!

14/04/2011