The Gilbert and Sullivan Newsletter Archive
GILBERTIAN GOSSIP
No 1 -- 1975
Edited by Michael Walters
REVIEWS OF AMATEUR PRODUCTIONS. IMPERIAL COLLEGE, LONDON. The Mikado.
This was basically a "trad" production, concentrating on the music and on pretty effect. In both these respects it succeeded. David Pollard conducted in delightful style, but some members of the orchestra let him down badly in places, with bum notes, bad entries and some nasty mistimings. It is ironic that when I bring someone to hear the I.C. Orchestra (which I am always praising) they always choose to have an off night. The production, by Ian Gledhill, was, on the whole, very good indeed, but perhaps more could have been made of the second level to get chorus off the main stage in crowd scenes and not make it look quite so crowded. Two interesting points of the production were the reversion to the original of having Pish-Tush on stage from the opening curtain and singing the line "Why who are you who ask this question"; and secondly, the singing of the Madrigal as a quintet (ie. including Peep-bo). I have never seen this done before (I should be interested to hear from any reader who has), and it seemed dramatically logical. Colin Davis surpassed himself as the Mikado. He looked, moved and sounded every inch like an Emperor, and had authority and style which so many portrayers of this role seem to lack. One beautiful touch was when he first saw the certificate of Nanki-Poo's death, on "Dear,dear,dear" we had a moment of genuine grief for the death of his son before a return to the stern authoritative ruler. Brian Parsons fulfilled my hopes as Nanki-Poo. He puts a special "heart" into all his performances, and is at his best when portraying the dewy-eyed, heart-broken lover. Roger Woodward, a comparative newcomer to the company, (and no relation to the pianist so far as I know) played Pooh-Bah in a quaintly starchy and pompous style. Pat Elliott was a Yum-Yum of great charm beauty of face and voice. Sue Cochrane played Katisha with dignity, arrogance, and, at the appropriate moments, pathos. She also had a suitably volcanic temper, without ever, as so many Katishas do, losing dignity and aristocratic bearing. The Ko-Ko was Peter Mills, the hallmark of whose performances is a whimsical, though slightly self-indulgent style and sense of humour, which is quite unique. A report on the production appeared in the College's magazine written by somebody called John Thole (whom I do not know). The report, which expresses several very different opinions from mine, appears to have been written by someone who had examined the text and score in considerable detail, but who has never acted, and knows nothing of the problems facing actors. It also bears the mark of somebody trying to be a little too clever, but showing himself up. He contradicts himself on at least one occasion, saying that Nanki-Poo is "the only remotely pleasant character in the whole opera" following this a couple of paragraphs later by the statement that Pooh-Bah is "an endearing old rogue". (That neither of these statements is correct is beside the point). However, it raises the basic question as to what is the purpose of student drama. As I see it, all amateur productions are basically totally different in conception from professional, which latter are a combination of art, craft and a means of making a living. Amateur drama may be a training ground for budding professionals, it may also be (and more often is) an institution whereby those who have no intention of becoming professionals may gain the experience of social contacts, and by perfecting their art and craft learn to understand the foibles and idiosyncrasies of their friends, and thereby not only come to understand themselves better but become better citizens as a result. Thus, if one were to attempt to criticize Roger Woodward's performance as Pooh-Bah on the same criteria as one would criticize a professional performance, which is what John Thole appears to have been trying to do, one could indeed have picked holes in it galore, For me, however, the performance was a success as it represented the result of Roger's surmounting of considerable obstacles. I have seen various I.C. performers who began their careers by making me squirm, and ended up as seasoned performers. Tim Johnson's Pish-Tush indicated that he had learned nothing from his past experiences. MICHAEL WALTERS
Web page created 7 September 1998