The Hot Mikado

Having taken part in ‘The Mikado’ three times in the past I am familiar with the dialogue and music but have never seen this particular version staged before. I appreciate that a Gilbert and Sullivan purist would no doubt have a completely different opinion to mine which is that I found it thoroughly entertaining.

The simple set with the Japanese structure was all that was needed to set the scene and the men’s costumes linked East and West, traditional and modern, whilst the ladies costumes epitomised the American fashion of the time. The men’s smoking jacket kimonos were brilliantly coloured, as were their hats, and along with the ladies bright skirts the company numbers looked most attractive.

Energy levels were high and smiling faces abounded in the first act but I felt they eased off a little in the second act, and yet from the point of view of pace the first act lost pace, mostly with slow picking up of cues, and the second act whizzed by.

David Annett achieved his wish after many years and is to be applauded for his tap dancing skills. He was very amusing in the role but unfortunately it was difficult to hear his singing voice as the orchestra played too loudly.
As Nanki Poo the wandering minstrel come pop star, Nic Main acted in true celebrity style enjoying the adulation of the ladies on stage and playing to those in the audience. He coped with the musical numbers although some were a little beyond his vocal range.
Yum-Yum was delightfully played by Claire Leonard, and ‘The Sun And I’ (which I was pleased wasn’t changed in style too much) was charmingly sung.
I loved the characterisation of Ko-Ko and in that part Matthias Kayser was first class. His ‘Tit Willow’ was the highlight of the show – incredibly well performed and the usually sad story turned into a wonderfully comical one.
Rachel Davison presented a sexy vamp of a Katisha, not the middle aged ‘left on the shelf’ as in the original, and it was difficult to imagine her being overlooked in the marriage stakes - although she was fairly terrifying. She has a wonderful contralto voice and her bluesy rendition of ‘The Hour of Gladness’ (whilst the chorus were in an effective freeze) was just fabulous. Loved her costume too.
The multi tasking Pooh-Bah was faultlessly acted and sung by Martin and ‘The Drums Will Crash’ was excellent.
Lucy Brailey’s singing was flawless as Pitti-Sing, a joy to listen to, and Emma Root gave a good performance as Peep-Bo.
‘Braid the Raven Hair’ is one of my favourite songs from ‘The Mikado’ and I was delighted to hear Mark Turville sing it so well. His singing voice has improved considerably since I first saw/heard him on stage, and he was able to hold his own admirably with the other male leads in the role of Pish-Tush.
Choreography was super, well done Jenny- and as always with WaWAOS the numbers were clearly very well rehearsed and performed. I particularly enjoyed the finale of act one with the movement split between the two sides of the stage, the hand movements in ‘Lord High Executioner’ and ‘Big Black Block’ and the finale of act two was another high spot.
The two directors, Sue and Richard had worked very hard to bring a lively, energetic, beautifully sung and extremely comical ‘Hot Mikado’ to the audience, and it proved to be a thoroughly good evening’s entertainment.

Costumes were good and make up and wigs also. It was a great pity that there were so few men on stage but what they did was done with confidence.

Lighting was well plotted and extremely effective and there were no problems in the sound department.

Your programme is nicely presented, the black centre page is striking and the photos from 1925 add interest.

Congratulations on celebrating an amazing almost 90 years of entertaining the public and thank you for inviting me to be at such a special production – also for your hospitality on the evening.

E. Gloria Smith
N.O.D.A South East Regional Representative – District 12

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