The Mikado

The Mikado is one of the G&S favourites, and always commands good audience figures, which was the case for PBGS.

I liked the humour that was injected into the production, not just the original G&S fun, but also some new departures, not least being a very Welsh Ko-Ko.

The set was nicely thought out, with the rostra being well-used by the cast.

Lighting was suitable for the production, and I liked the introduction of a red light for Katisha’s appearance, it just lifted the proceedings and added some menace.

Sound was excellent throughout, but in the opening particularly it felt as if the men’s ensemble were holding back, it started well but faded.

The overture seemed to be very long, and was a little on one level, however the configuration was suitable.

I liked Brian Miles as Nanki-Poo – this part suited his voice, and I liked the nuances within the music, and the cheeky asides to the audience from time to time.  A good performance.

David Crew was a very imposing Pooh-Bar.  His vocal capability is always outstanding, and the variety of accents for his many state positions were very good.  I loved his commitment to the part, it brought Pooh-Bar to life, whilst showing the type of man he wanted to be!  

I thought the voices of Nanki-Poo, Pooh-Bar and Pish-Tush blended very well in their trio, a lovely sound.  However I felt that Pish-Tush, played by Tim Hobman suffered a little in his solo as the choreography detracted from his vocal ability.  The rather fussy side to his portrayal was good.

The Welsh Ko-Ko worked really well, and the comedy given to the part by Peter Sayers made it extremely funny – his ‘Little List’ was great - I found the overall portrayal nicely accomplished.

Sue Wookey gave us her usual fine portrayal of the very strong Katisha – and I liked the change in her during Willow, Tit-willow – always a funny moment.

Our three little maids – Paula Fraser as Yum-Yum, Catherine Harvey as Peep-Bow and Emma Crew as Pitti-Sing formed a nicely contrasting trio, who sounded good together and were diverse in their portrayals. All achieving well vocally.

Paula always gives us a well-rounded characterisation, and also injects some nice comedic touches within her character.  Catherine Harvey was a more experienced little maid, with her wry observations, which contrasted really well with the charming Emma Crew, in her first principal part with PBGS, and one which she accomplished well.  A lovely lively face added so much to her portrayal.

In the Act 1 finale I felt that the ensemble eventually reached their potential with depth and volume at the end. 

The ladies ensemble looked lovely, wigs and costumes were good, and they all seemed to have mastered their use of fans whilst singing the sometimes intricate music.

I found ‘Here’s a how-de-do’ very well done, and extremely funny.

The choreography was a little tentatively used – I would have liked it to be a little more marked by the performers.

So all in all, a fun and interesting production, good musically with some nice nuances and vocal accomplishment.  I just felt a bit of energy was missing to lift it to the next level, however I, and the audience, enjoyed the evening very much.

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