The Hot Mikado

National Operatic & Dramatic Association

             Society:            Biggin Hill Musical Theatre Company

            Production:       Hot Mikado

            Date:                June 2004

            Venue:              Charles Darwin Theatre

            Report by:        Sandra Vamplew

 The secret of good amateur Theatre is for the company to entertain the audience, and to enjoy themselves. In this production of the Hot Mikado, both were achieved very successfully, and one of the key elements was the enthusiasm of everyone on stage. This was in no small part due to the efforts of the Director Tracy Weaver, who developed some good movements, and ensured that the whole stage was used, and the Musical Director John Budden. 

Sometimes a difficult score for the amateur stage to manage, the principals and chorus maintained a good pace throughout. I enjoyed the orchestra, although there were one or two occasions when they were a little too loud for the principals during solos. 

Ian Haylock gave us a well sung and acted Pish-Tush, although he didn’t look very comfortable during Braid the Raven Hair.

Marc O’Grady as Nanki- Poo has a pleasant singing voice, and clear diction. He acted the part well.

Lindsey Ward was a most convincing Pooh- Bah, and she not only looked very impressive, but has a lovely voice, and a good stage presence.

Amanda Ward as Pitti —Sing, and Lanna Robinson as Peep-Bo played their parts well. They also managed some very difficult music convincingly.

A well-sung and acted Yum- Yum was played by Sam McLoughlin. I particularly liked her duet with Nanki-Poo, and they looked good together.

The Mikado, Colin Palmer made a grand entrance. He played the part with great energy, which was much appreciated by the audience!

Tracy German as Katisha was stunning. Both acting and singing were excellent, and her dialogue with Ko-Ko was very funny. I liked her response to the duck!

Daniel Shortland as Ko-Ko was outstanding. He was wonderfully camp, sang and moved well, and at the same time, was generous to the other actors on the stage, and never tried to upstage them. I feel sure that he will have many more principal roles in the future.

 Chorus were in the main, well disciplined, and there was some nice ensemble work. Most of the dance routines worked, but one or two of the ladies looked rather anxiously at their feet, and at other peoples!! If they had just been a little more confident the mistakes would have gone unnoticed. The lack of numbers of the men’s chorus, (now sadly all too common in most groups), did not cause too many difficulties.

There was a good sense of a “Night Club”, which set the scene very nicely. Lighting on the whole was good, and enhanced the production.

There were several occasions when the amplifiers produced feedback noise, and this was a shame as it interrupted the flow of the production.

 Costumes were colourful and the principals, particularly Katisha, looked very good. Some of the ladies in the chorus had some very dubious hemlines, and several of the dresses did not fit very well. One or two of the cast kept pulling at them and were clearly feeling uncomfortable. Good fitting costumes are essential to the feeling of a show and to the confidence of the cast. I do of course understand that cost is an issue, and appreciate that a great deal of hard work was done by the wardrobe mistress. The general impact was, however, good,

This was a very enjoyable show, much appreciated by the audience. Thank you for inviting me.

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