No 45 Autumn 1997 Edited by Michael Walters
This is the first time The Mikado has been performed in the fifteen-year history of musicals at this school; Pirates has been performed twice before and those productions have been the only forays of the school into G&S. The surrealist set comprised cherry blossom, jars and fans painted on a black background, and the programme note described the scenes as "Act 1. Once upon a summer morning in Titipu, Japan. Act 2. Later that day". Perhaps because many of the students were not students of singing, all the recitatives were cut and replaced by dialogue. "Our Great Mikado" and "See how the Fates" were also cut. Due to demands of political correctness, the opening chorus consisted of male and female - the Citizens of Japan, all dressed in Kung-Fu costume. Go-To was omitted. Brian Bergin (Nanki-Poo) was a better actor than singer and found it difficult to reach the top notes. He was required to sit on a bicycle during his second act scene with Ko-Ko, and during "The Flowers that bloom". John Kennedy had a real stage presence as Pish-Tush (described in the programme as Town Clerk), and wore a bowler hat. Michael Liffey (Pooh-Bah) was more a tenor than bass, not a pompous ass but rather an imitator of The Fonz. [Fascinating, but mind-boggling! Ed.] While Darragh Shortt (Ko-Ko) sang well, he more or less walked through the part and failed to portray much of the humour, particularly in the second Act. During "Tit Willow" the three little maids provided him with a backing group! None of the men except the Mikado used fans much, but during "I am so proud" each had a differently coloured, large fan which they used effectively.
The Japanese schoolgirls came straight from St. Trinian's with lollipops, hockey-sticks, umbrellas, skipping ropes, candy floss, etc. By the time of their second entrance in Act 1 they had changed into lovely silk kimonos. Helena Fanneran (Yum-Yum) delivered her lines too quickly, failed to use the device of pausing to make a point, and had difficulty reaching her top notes. She was referred to as Mrs. Poo by Nanki-Poo in Act 2. Sharon O'Connor (Peep-Bo) was required to partner Pitti-Sing in the Madrigal, and Pish-Tush was also partnered, turning the quartet into a sextet. During the madrigal there were some Japanese schoolgirls hovering in the background with fans. Ena Brophy did tolerably well as Pitti-Sing. In the programme Katisha (Michelle Hayes) was described as "Dragon Lady". She entered on a motor cycle, clad in leathers and with a whip. She wore a kimono in act 2. She tended to screech rather than sing her top notes, and, again, failed to make a comic impact with Ko-Ko in the second Act. Cathal Barber was a strongly sung Mikado, but tend to walk about a lot, and was dressed rather like a Chinese mandarin. He did not react to the supposed death of his son. His entrance involved the playing of "Miya sama" at least twelve times as the procession made its way from the back of the auditorium to the stage, and this procession looked as though it were welcoming the Chinese new year of the Dragon. John Roe conducted and orchestra of seven, and over 300 youngsters were involved in the production. I hope that the exposure to this G&S opera will have good future effects.
DAVID SKELLY
Web page created 25 July 1998