Sasha Regan’s All-Male
The Mikado
Wilton’s Music Hall, London
Wednesday 7 June to Saturday 1 July
“Following her critically acclaimed highly successful all-male productions of ‘H.M.S. Pinafore’ and ‘The Pirates of Penzance’, Sasha Regan returns to London’s Wilton’s Music Hall – the only surviving Grand Music Hall in the world – with Gilbert and Sullivan’s irresistible ‘The Mikado’.
One of G&S’s most famous operettas, featuring the songs “A Wand’ring Minstrel I”, “Behold the Lord High Executioner” and “Three little maids from school are we”, ‘The Mikado’ is traditionally set in Japan. But this vibrant production successfully pokes playful fun at British politics and institutions by transposing the crazy storyline to an all-boys school in 1950s England. A school camping trip is visiting the far away land of Titipu – a place where flirting is banned on pain of death and where tailors can become Lord High Executioners but cannot cut off another’s head, until they have cut off their own!
Regan’s idea to transform these much-loved classics into all-male productions stems from her own experience performing Gilbert and Sullivan at a single-sex school. Her shows are renowned for playing on the unique humour it creates.”
Review by Richard Lambert, 3 Stars
The Mikado is possibly G&S’s greatest production. With a great story, full of larger than life characters, and consequence to actions and choices, it’s brilliant! Sasha Regan’s production remains faithful to the story on some level but instead of being located in a Japanese city we appear to be in a Boy Scout Camp.
All the characters are male and the opening is somewhat bizarre having men over-acting in a childish caricature of young boys. They appear to be camping in a tent for some unknown reason. It gets stranger when they then take on the female roles in falsetto voices. The names are changed – Katisha is now Kitty Shaw and Yum Yum is Miss Plumb – again for no apparent reason. It starts to feel as if a rugby club has decided to do the Sound of Music.
The lyrics are also changed – some for good comedic reasons and others for no apparently obvious reason.
With such an accompished cast and great songs it’s a shame that it’s all such a send-up of the show. I don’t understand why it needs to be parodied. The “all male” works but for me the slapstick parody doesn’t.
A simple set that doesn’t change, with great costumes for all. It’s a fun but rather bizarre version of The Mikado.
Photo credit: Mark Senior
Creative team includes
Director Sasha Regan, Designer Ryan Dawson Laight, Choreographer Adam Haigh, Casting Adam Brahm, Producers Regan De Wynter Williams.
Sasha Regan was recently awarded the Special Achievement Award at the Off West End Awards for her contribution to musical theatre.
Regan De Wynter William’s 2022 production of ‘H.M.S. Pinafore’ was nominated Best Opera Production at this year’s Offies.
‘Sasha Regan’s All Male The Mikado’
directed by Sasha Regan
7 June – 1 July
Wilton’s Music Hall
Graces Alley,
London
E1 8JB
Tuesday – Saturday at 7 30pm
Thursday and Saturday at 2.30pm
Running time:
2 hours 10 minutes plus interval
Age Recommendation: 6+