Marriage with deceased wife's sister

'He shall prick that annual blister: marriage with deceased wife's sister' sings the Queen of the Fairies in Iolanthe.

This was indeed a blister. The Marriage Act of 1835 specifically prohibited such marriages but there seems to have been constant pressure to revise this. A Bill was introduced in 1842, but defeated.

Quite coincidentally, I came across the attached recently in a newspaper of 1859 which shows that another attempt was made then. The thought of the lay peers interpreting the Bible and basing the law of the land on the Old Testament is, to me, pretty scary.

It was not until 1907 that an Act was passed allowing a man to marry the sister of their deceased wife. I wonder how many rushed out to do so.

Eek! - First performance delayed

The sudden illness of Strephon means that the first performance of this year's production, Iolanthe, has been delayed until 20 June at Perranwell. Just enough time to source another half fairy to take the leading role and to shuffle the peers.

May copious quantities of fairy dust restore 'old' Strephon to full health.

Can you resist Iolanthe?

It's downhill all the way to our first performance on 23 May at Falmouth Methodist Church (7:30 since you ask). Fresh from last year's rollicking Pirates, come and meet:

• Hilary Pheonix as the Queen of the Fairies. Not a lady to be trifled with


• Anna Scutt as Iolanthe, the fairies' favourite companion


• Penny Platts as the adorable Phyllis with whom everyone is naturally in love


• Sally-Ann Gretton (Kate or was it Edith?) as Celia


• Carolyn Hendra as Leila


• Geoff Pope as the half fairy (from the waist down) Strephon


• Alan Russell (formerly the Pirate King) as the lovelorn Lord Chancellor who has nightmares about riding bicycles across Salisbury Plain


• Tony Davy as the Earl of Mountararat


• Philip Feather (formerly Ralph Rackstraw) as the Earl Tolloller who sadly lacks any brain


• Max Braga as Private Willis of the Grenadier Guards, one of the finest examples of manhood

If you come in, you're sure to win ...


For a full list of venues, see the Programme page.