Co-Opera & The Gilbert and Sullivan Society of SA to Present THE MIKADO

For the first time in the long history of two of Adelaideís most celebrated and successful theatre companies The Gilbert and Sullivan Society of SA and Co-Opera are in collaboration!

Together the companies present a revival of the G&S Societyís hugely popular 2011 production of The Mikado which, after a Gala Black Tie launch, will tour Australia, followed by a season in May at Co-Operaís home at the Adelaide Showgrounds.

The Gala Black Tie launch of the 2016 Mikado season takes place on at 7.30pm on 2 March 2016. This will be held at Living Choice Fullarton Retirement Village, 123 Fisher Street, Fullarton All tickets are $49.

In keeping with Co-Opera tradition the event will be cabaret style however please note this is not a BYO even; refreshments and finger food will be available for purchase at the venue. Starting at 7.30pm the performance will conclude at 10.30pm

The illustrious team heading this ambitious project are three distinguished names in Australian theatre circles: Director Ric Trevaskis, Music Director Brian Chatterton and Designer David Lampard. Together they have assembled a cast of experienced performers drawn from both companies who will be accompanied by a quintet of very excellent musicians.

The Mikado by Gilbert and Sullivan is one of the most quoted, most attended, most hummed theatre music ever! Everyone has a stock of phrases from the show, and the tunes are instantly recognisable and whistleable.

The Mikado is about the silliness of politics in general, and the English in particular who at the time had a fashionable fascination for all things Japanese. Itís also a useful guide on how to get rid of irritating people - if youíre the Lord High Executioner that is. And, oh yes, about true love.

A Mikado tradition is that each Lord High Executionerís 'little list' becomes personal with irritating individuals listed for the chop, in some interesting way or another. This tradition naturally continues with our Ko-Ko performed by Rod Schulz!

Richard Suart, baritone, known for his innumerable performances as Ko-Ko, with the English National Opera, and who, consequently, has updated his ëlittle listí many times, wrote for the Guardian in 2006:

ìGilbert and Sullivan's Mikado premiered at London's Savoy Theatre on March 14 1885. With songs such as Three Little Maids, Tit-Willow, and A Wand'ring Minstrel and characters including the lovelorn hero Nanki-Poo and the lovely Yum-Yum.

ì It's still one of our best loved comic operas, but it's the hapless Ko-Ko, Lord High Executioner of Titipu, and his little list of citizens, marked for speedy dispatch to a better place, that we remember best today.î

Director Ric Traveskis said of Gilbert and Sullivan: ìThey honed the art of having a laugh at the establishment with wit, irony and irreverence while never compromising the inherently warm charm of their works. The frequency with which their operas are still performed by major companies around the world is testimony to the endearing and enduring nature of their legacy.

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