The Mikado is one of Gilbert and Sullivan's finest operettas, I can't decide actually which is my favourite out of Mikado or Pirates of Penzance. Though all of G&S operettas do a great job at cheering you up after a hard day. This production has some good things, but when it's not-so-good it is quite bad actually.
Let's start with the good things. The production is certainly better musically than it is visually. The orchestra play with zesty style and beautiful sound. The chorus are similarly effective, singing vibrantly and with involvement. The conducting keeps things moving nicely. The cast is a strong one, Julian Jensen is likable enough as Nanki-Poo with an attractive voice. He doesn't seem as involved as some, then again there are members of the cast that really, really come alive on stage. Lesley Echo Ross is an alluring Yum-Yum, Gary Montaine is an amusing Pooh-Bah and the Mikado of Deryk Hamon has a commanding presence. The two best were Fenton Gray and Jill Pert. From his towering entrance, Gray's robust voice and genius comic timing makes for a truly memorable Ko-Ko. And Pert's Katisha is both moving and spine-tingling. The production deserves credit also for using Were you not to Ko-Ko Plighted and Hearts do not break in their two-verse form, which give the songs a more complete feel as a result.
Unfortunately, the negatives come from how the production looks, appallingly weird is how I described it and while that sounds harsh that is how it looked to me. The sets are bizarre and austere, I missed the pretty oriental look I'm used to and it gave an impression that the production was set in a time and place different to that shown in the libretto(very soecific too). The costumes are also horrible, Katisha and the Mikado look as though they had just stepped out of Star Wars by mistake, imagine if you had a slightly more chubby version of Yoda and you have the costuming for Katisha. And I do not have a clue what intentions there were to have the chorus dressed first as prisoner escapees and then in wellington boots and aprons(if you're finding this weird just reading, just you wait until you see it). The choreography and staging are also a let-down, the dialogue and its delivery are good but the humour, charm and wit is not reflected in how the production was staged.
In conclusion, some good(the singing-especially for Ko-Ko and Katisha-, orchestra and chorus), some bad(staging, costumes, sets), summing up it is a production that evoked a mixed response to me. The Eric Idle, Stratford and even the 1939 productions are more ideal and far superior in my mind. 6/10 Bethany Cox
Let's start with the good things. The production is certainly better musically than it is visually. The orchestra play with zesty style and beautiful sound. The chorus are similarly effective, singing vibrantly and with involvement. The conducting keeps things moving nicely. The cast is a strong one, Julian Jensen is likable enough as Nanki-Poo with an attractive voice. He doesn't seem as involved as some, then again there are members of the cast that really, really come alive on stage. Lesley Echo Ross is an alluring Yum-Yum, Gary Montaine is an amusing Pooh-Bah and the Mikado of Deryk Hamon has a commanding presence. The two best were Fenton Gray and Jill Pert. From his towering entrance, Gray's robust voice and genius comic timing makes for a truly memorable Ko-Ko. And Pert's Katisha is both moving and spine-tingling. The production deserves credit also for using Were you not to Ko-Ko Plighted and Hearts do not break in their two-verse form, which give the songs a more complete feel as a result.
Unfortunately, the negatives come from how the production looks, appallingly weird is how I described it and while that sounds harsh that is how it looked to me. The sets are bizarre and austere, I missed the pretty oriental look I'm used to and it gave an impression that the production was set in a time and place different to that shown in the libretto(very soecific too). The costumes are also horrible, Katisha and the Mikado look as though they had just stepped out of Star Wars by mistake, imagine if you had a slightly more chubby version of Yoda and you have the costuming for Katisha. And I do not have a clue what intentions there were to have the chorus dressed first as prisoner escapees and then in wellington boots and aprons(if you're finding this weird just reading, just you wait until you see it). The choreography and staging are also a let-down, the dialogue and its delivery are good but the humour, charm and wit is not reflected in how the production was staged.
In conclusion, some good(the singing-especially for Ko-Ko and Katisha-, orchestra and chorus), some bad(staging, costumes, sets), summing up it is a production that evoked a mixed response to me. The Eric Idle, Stratford and even the 1939 productions are more ideal and far superior in my mind. 6/10 Bethany Cox
