Fun G&S show The Mikado needed more energy

I liked the humour injected into the production at the Queen Mother Theatre, Hitchin, not just the original G&S fun, but also some new departures, not least a very Welsh Ko-Ko.

The set was nicely thought out, with the rostra being well-used by the cast.

I enjoyed Brian Miles as Nanki-Poo. This part suited his voice and I liked the nuances within the music and the cheeky asides to the audience from time to time.

A good performance.

David Crew was a very imposing Pooh-Bar. His vocal capability is always outstanding and the variety of accents for his many state positions was very good.

I loved his commitment to the part.

I thought the voices of Nanki-Poo, Pooh-Bar and Pish-Tush blended very well in their trio, a lovely sound.

Pish-Tush, played by Tim Hobman, suffered a little in his solo as the choreography detracted from his vocal ability.

The rather fussy side to his portrayal was good.

The Welsh Ko-Ko worked really well and the comedy given to the part by Peter Sayers made it extremely funny. His ‘Little List’ was great and I found the overall portrayal nicely accomplished.

Sue Wookey gave us her usual fine portrayal of the very strong Katisha and I liked the change in her during Willow, Tit-willow.

Our three little maids – Paula Fraser as Yum-Yum, Catherine Harvey as Peep-Bow and Emma Crew as Pitti-Sing – formed a nicely contrasting trio, who sounded good together and were diverse in their portrayals.

All achieving well vocally with contrasting and excellent characterisations.

I found ‘Here’s a how-de-do’ very well done and extremely funny.

The choreography was a little tentatively used. It needed to be more marked by the performers.

A fun and interesting production, good musically but energy was missing to lift it to the next level. However an enjoyable evening.Fun