Hot Mikado

Published Wednesday 19 July 2006 at 16:15 by Julie Watterston

It was difficult to tell in 30 plus degrees of sunshine whether this Hot Mikado was as sizzling as the outside temperature or even hotter. To say that the production is sensational is no understatement and even with the cool surroundings of the Watermill’s intimate auditorium the atmosphere was soon as heady as a speakeasy during the prohibition.

The highly talented cast of actor-musicians are so enthusiastic that their infectious energy is charged with an electric fervour that carries the production into the heights of musical satire and beyond.

From Andrew Alexander’s wandering minstrel Nanki Poo to Ian Conningham’s Lord High Everything Pooh-Bah the characterisations are brilliantly developed. Nicola Hughes is fantastically expressive and vocally superb as Yum Yum with Jeffrey Harmer as the smarmy Ko-Ko and Karen Mann’s delightful theatricality as the inebriated Katisha.

The musical arrangements by Sarah Travis are ideally suited to the Watermill’s unique style and Diego Pitarch’s simple Kabuki design complements the frenzied activity onstage, offset by a costume design that intriguingly combines the unlikely pairing of urban guerrilla and Japanese geisha.

With the Watermill’s production of Sweeney Todd receiving standing ovations on Broadway, it would be no surprise to see Hot Mikado follow in the same footsteps.