Lyrics by W.S. Gilbert, Music by Arthur Sullivan
SYNOPSIS AND CAST
Prince Hilarion has been waiting for this day for twenty years. He is about to meet the girl he was betrothed to as a baby, to unite the kingdoms of Hildebrand and Gama. Unfortunately, this girl, Princess Ida, has decided that men are little more than monkeys in suits and she does not want to honour the commitment, so has retreated to Castle Adamant to run a women’s university.
In an attempt to woo her, Hilarion, and his friends, Cyril and Florian, are forced to dress up as maidens in order to infiltrate the castle. Once the ‘maidens’ are in, various girls attending the college discover the ‘maidens’ secret. These girls attempt to keep their knowledge secret, but eventually, Princess Ida discovers the intruders to be no more than men in women’s clothes, and condemns them to a dungeon cell to await their fate.
Hildebrand invades the castle with his army and threatens war on the women. After it looks like violence is sure to erupt, Ida finally relinquishes and agrees to marry Hilarion.
Director: Jeremy Page
Musical Director: Michael Newton
CAST
| King Hildebrand | James Godwin |
| Hilarion | Matthew Wyles |
| Florian | Michael Crow |
| Cyril | Martin Dibben |
| King Gama | Richard Holliday |
| Arac | Lawrence Reed |
| Guron | Iain Saville |
| Scynthius | Paul Sadler |
| Princess Ida | Gillian Hutchinson |
| Lady Blanche | Kate Albert |
| Lady Psyche | Jayne Wilcox |
| Melissa | Helen McCree |
| Sacharissa | Jo’ Manley |
| Chloe | Anne Kidson |
| Ada | Janet Lewis |
| CHORUS | Soldiers & Courtiers, Girl Graduates & Daughters of the Plough |
| Theo Bell, Gill Birchall, Rachel Bostock, Trish Campbell, Jane Catton, Anne Crockford, Margaret Etches, Barbara Fleming, Claire Hargadon, Anne Loveder, Joanne Merry, Anne Mitchell, Dianne Norton, Mary O’Keeffe, Melanie Osborne, Sally Patten, Jill Penrose, Susan Riordan, Marion Stewart, Penny Stone, Dawn Terry, Julie Terry, Rosamond Turton, Vanessa Turton, Annette Wells, Anne White | |
| Peter Bagwell, Brian Card, Nigel Catlow, Nei Catton, Norman Drummond, Michael Howard, Percy Morgan, Dick Plumridge, John Thompson, Chris Toole, Ray Vamplew, Ken Warner, Kim White |