Hot Mikado

The cast successfully drive forward an incredibly fast-paced show where there is no time to breathe or blink. Each scene and song launches itself on stage in an excitable, sparkling burst and then, in a flash, bounces on to the next one.

The choreography was perhaps, dare I say, on the verge of being too whacky. I’m unsure where the majority of the inspiration came from for so much of the movement as I struggled to fathom what the company were supposed to be doing half the time or to what rhythm the moves were set to. This gave a contemporary and abstract look and feel which I’m not sure is the right avenue for this show or score where choreography is concerned.

Spacing of the ensemble failed to inspire with some areas of the performing space being overcrowded with the cast all huddled together on top of each other while other areas of the stage were left unused, almost crying out to be performed in.

Within the ensemble we had a group of ‘dancers’ who often took the limelight in company numbers to showcase their skills, the troupe were treated to a selection of more elaborate outfits though it was quite noticeable that the footwear amongst these girls had not been coordinated with the mix of tan and black character shoes and even one of the girls appeared to be wearing flat workmen’s shoes which really did look out of place when they were parading in feathers!

Jake Hankey gave us the king of cool with his suave Pooh-Bah, we got a flamboyantly camp Pish-Tush with some aloof moments by Joe Dillon but the owner of this show was undeniably David Beeby’s impressive portrayal as KoKo which was nothing short of outstanding. David fought his way through this performance head on with remarkable results, a natural comic, reminding me and I’m sure many others of the comic legend Harold Lloyd, commanding and indeed owning the stage with high expertise indeed.

Including some calmer elements into the production were Stephen Bache and Lara Hancox as Nanki-Poo and Yum Yum who both delivered quaint interpretations carrying the forefront love story of the piece. Yes, I sensed inexperience in some performers (that’s to be expected) but what is commendable about MMY is how they stick firmly to the values of giving people a chance, if they chose not to do that, people would never be given the opportunity to blossom as performers and show what they’re capable of when given the chance.   

The act II quartet was a musical highlight for me within this production with well-balanced and clear harmonies exposing their skills as vocalists.

Abigail Harper commanded the stage and indeed the audience’s attention whenever she opened those pipes and treated us to her superb voice. Very interestingly, Abigail demonstrated the opposite to what I so usually see, her character was heightened and appeared stronger when she sang which is quite rare as it’s so common for performers to expose and communicate the strength of their character via the lib but Abigail was quite the opposite in her role as the fierce Katisha.

This time, the band led (as always) by Kimberly Holden ‘almost’ took centre stage as they were positioned in (and overflowed out of) a Japanese bandstand.  This helped the sound to carry much easier than having a false wall / curtain between them and us and enabled the cast to interact with the musicians which did lend itself well for this production. The musicians exposed the swing style very well and took part in the fun by dressing up too (makes a change to the usual ‘blacks’).

The cast grabbed their show with open arms and a firm and unyielding grasp. Their energy is phenomenal, encouraging you to accept the peculiar, the unexpected, and the farcical. A quick glance at anyone on stage is enough to thoroughly convince of the authenticity of the Mikado world. With such an alert cast, each reaction is spot on.

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