THE MIKADO to 9 February.
London.
THE MIKADO
music by Arthur Sullivan book and lyrics by W S Gilbert.
Gielgud Theatre To 9 February 2008.
Mon-Sat 7:30 Mat Wed & Sat 2:30pm.
Runs 2hr 45 min One interval.
TICKETS: 0844 482 5130.
www.delfontmackintosh.co.uk
Review: Geoff Ambler 30 January 2008.
Gilbert and Sullivan - brightening the winter's chill with ageless wit and wisdom.
Little lifts the bleak and chill midwinter gloom that besets London in February like an evening in a warm theatre with laughs and music aplenty and while the West End may be bursting with musicals, comedies and combinations of the two there can be few around today that in a hundred years time will still be re awakened with such regularity like the major works of operetta supremos Gilbert and Sullivan.
With only a few modernisations, injecting some topicality into the libretto, notably with “As Some Day It May Happen” to marvellous effect, the show sparkles with Victorian wit, lyrical delight, endless charm and perfect understatement.
Set in the town of Titipu, Japan under the governance of Ko-Ko, The Lord High Executioner, and Pooh-Bah, The Lord High Everything Else, this much loved tale of love, treachery, duty and honour has more twists than even modern soap operas would dare include in a Christmas special. Gilbert and Sullivan are masters of troubled love and their Japanese Mikado, played with impeccable Victorian Englishness accents and values, has as much relevance today as it did in the 1880’s.
While Alistair McGowan’s Mikado brings its own wonders it is the bombastic Bruce Graham's Pooh-Bah and Fenton Gray's Ko-Ko that revel in their roles and lift the winter gloom, possibly and only occasionally surpassed by Charlotte Page as Yum-Yum, and her two sisters Sophie-Louise Dann and Lesley Cox as Pitti-Sing and Peep-Bo, together Three Little Maids all coquettish playfulness and operatic joy. Andrew Rees as Nanki-Poo, son of the Mikado and the truly magnificent Nichola McAuliffe as lovelorn Katisha, round out a dream cast of principals.
The Mikado must have been a musical epiphany when first shown and time has not diminished it in any way. Peter Mulloy has retained the traditional ambiance, with a set that may also date from the Victorian era, helping make this opening production in the Carl Rosa Company’s first London season an unalloyed joy of magnificent proportions.
The Mikado of Japan: Alistair McGowan.
Nanki-Poo: Andrew Rees.
Ko-Ko: Fenton Gray.
Pooh-Bah: Bruce Graham.
Pish-Tush: Steven Page.
Yum-Yum: Charlotte Page.
Pitti-Sing: Sophie-Louise Dann.
Peep-Bo: Lesley Cox.
Katisha: Nichola McAuliffe.
Chorus of Schoolgirls, Nobles, Guards and Coolies:
Amy Pedwell, Betsy Pennington, Curtis Dabek, David Furnell, Francesca Ellis, Fred Broom, Jane Quinn, Martin Milnes, Melanie Lodge, Michael Kerry, Ross Finnie, Ted Schmitz, Toby Hunt, Victoria Ward, Ethan Evans, Victor Canilla, Deborah Crowe, Anna Lowe, Carmen Vass, David Faulds, Ian Caddick.
Directed and recreated by: Peter Molloy.
Conducted by: Martin Handley.
Choreography recreated by: David Furnell.
Lighting: Mark Doubleday
2008-02-03 23:06:40