REVIEW: THE HOT MIKADO, Aberystwyth Arts Centre

The Hot Mikado, currently being presented at the Aberystwyth Arts Centre as part of the UK tour of a Watermill Theatre-originated production, is certainly "hot". The beauty of Arthur Sullivan's melodies and the crisp wit of W.S. Gilbert's lyrics from their classic masterwork The Mikado still shine through while being seriously enhanced by Rob Bowman and David H. Bell's contemporary adaptation. And a sense of style and an atmosphere of high energy is added to this actor-musician production by Craig Revel Horwood's dynamic direction, Sarah Travis's clever musical arrangements, Diego Pietarch's fabulous Kabuki style set and Richard G. Jones's perfectly effective lighting design.

The plot is still, of course, rather whimsical - concerning a small town in Japan where flirting is punishable by death and characters with names such as Ko Ko, Yum Yum and Nanky Poo contrive to fall in love and escape execution in the midst of comic mayhem. But the nonsense of the plot does not really matter. The performances of the outstanding ensemble cast of "quadruple threats" (Robin Colyer, Lee Drage, Neil Ditt, Georgina Field, Jeffrey Harmer, Julian Littman, Karen Mann, Melanie Marshall, Aliona Omonua, Kit Orton, Cassie Pearson and Dominic Tighe) are about as good as it gets. And the precision and raw excitement of Craig Revel Horwood's masterful choreography of each musical number sets the stage alight with joy throughout.

There are even some highly topical "in" jokes about Susan Boyle and Mr. Horwood's connection with the Strictly Come Dancing judging which add to the fun of the entertainment.

My verdict? Pulsating - Professional - Perfect. It gets a "Ten" from me.

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