The Hot Mikado (2007)

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Poster by Matt Ross

by Bowman and Bell

Directed by Heather French

Performances: Tue 3rd – Sat 7th July 2007, Bell Theatre


Introduction

Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado was originally intended to poke fun at England's Victorian bourgeoisie, who had seized on a fad for all things Japanese. Bowman and Bell took this tale and essentially created a spoof within a spoof.

The Hot Mikado therefore tells the same story... that of the minstrel Nanki-Poo, who arrives in the town of Titipu in search of the girl of his dreams, Yum-Yum. Meanwhile, Yum-Yum's guardian ­ the tailor-turned-Lord High Executioner, Ko-Ko ­ is under pressure from the bloodthirsty ruler of the land, the Mikado, to execute somebody within the next month. Simply because he enjoys a good bit of execution.

Nanki-Poo is so infatuated with his sweetheart that he agrees to have his head cut off in exchange for one month of wedded bliss with Yum-Yum. The deal means that Ko-Ko can then claim her as his own bride once Nanki-Poo is dead and gone. This extraordinary plan then takes another twist when the Mikado makes a surprise visit to Titipu.

Confused? You may be. But the real twist in the tale is Bowman and Bell's amazing, 1940s-style swing interpretation of this classic piece of theatre.

Cast

Gentleman of Japan (Male Company)

Ladies of Japan (Female Company)

Ensemble

Designers

Crew

Reviews

Some review quotes go here


Gallery

Photo thumbnails go here with links to larger images.

Reminiscences and Anecdotes

  • If the script didn't have an official name for a character, for example "Gent 1", different combinations of the actors real names were fed though a Japanese translator to give them character names.

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See Also

Have there been other SLT productions of this play? Link to them here.

Or add anything that is related within this site. The author's page for instance or other plays with a similar theme.

References

External Links