The costumes in this production of Mikado are divine, subtle hued silk kimonos alive with cranes and cockerels, blossoms and bows. They began not in Japan but in Mike Leigh's film biography of Gilbert and Sullivan, Topsy-Turvey and they won an Oscar for Lindy Hemming in 2000. The costumes set the tone for the production, they were designed to recreate the Victorian originals and this is a very traditional Mikado. The sets are reassuringly Japanesque, rather than Japanese and the staging is based upon the first 1885 production. With another Mikado already in the West End (the Jonathon Miller revival at the Colloseum), it seems safe to play Gilbert and Sullivan straight again. There is no laughing at the script, only with it and the insertion of some topical material into the 'little list' simply shows how adaptable the original is. This is a marriage of Opera and pantomime, with the dame very much in charge.
       Fenton Gray's comedy turn as Ko-Ko is a joy, his parrying courtship with the 'daughter-in-law-elect' reaches a hilarious climax with Tit-Willow, a song that needs not to be sung too sweetly. Which is just as well because there is little that is sweet about Fenton Gray's voice. When Alastair MacGowan, as the Mikado finally makes his entrance in the second act he gets the loudest applause. His take on the role is part Duke of Edinburgh and part Angus Deayton, a sort of gently debauched self-satisfied kindly psychopath. Which seems about right. Surprisingly, MacGowan can sing. Unfortunately, most of the rest of the cast is workman like. The lovers seem too old for their roles and the chorus is a little leaden. However, the sets, the costumes and the score do their bit. This is a sure footed traditional rendering of a theatrical classic. Nothing memorable, but certainly a good night out.
Charlie Taylor