Matlock Gilbert and Sullivan to present The Mikado

Matlock Gilbert and Sullivan Society present The Mikado. Pictured are Susan Devaney, Liddy Buswell and Lizzy Blades, left to right on front row, with Melanie Gilbert and Angela Robinson, back row.

Matlock G&S Society is renowned for adding quirky touches to its presentations and this month’s traditionally costumed production of The Mikado will be no exception.

New director Angela Robinson is taking charge of the company’s presentation. She has been directing plays and musicals since 1983, mostly with the ex-patriot communities in Nairobi, Kenya and Basel in Switzerland.

Back in the UK for four years, Angela has trodden the boards with various companies and directed Baslow’s pantomime earlier this year.

As well as including the very competent and talented stalwarts of the society, Angela has cast real schoolgirls in the parts of Yum Yum (Lizzy Blades) and Peep Bo (Liddy Buswell), thus combining experience with youthful enthusiasm and verve.

The Mikado is one of Gilbert and Sullivan’s most popular works, with many memorable songs – ‘Three Little Maids from School’, ‘I’ve got a Little List’ and ‘The Sun Whose Rays’ being just a few.

Melanie Gilbert, who has been musical director of the society since its inception, will be fronting the orchestra and the evening promises to be light-hearted and full of humour and melody.

The comic opera satirises politics and was the ninth of 14 operettas written by Gilbert and Sullivan.

It opened in London in 1885, where it ran at the Savoy Theatre for 672 performances, which was the second longest run for any work of musical theatre.

Before the end of 1885, it was estimated that, in Europe and America, at least 150 companies were producing The Mikado.

It remains one of the most frequently produced Savoy Opera.

The Mikado runs at the Medway Centre, Bakewell, from June 11 to 13 at 7.30pm.

Tickets are £10 and available by calling Liz McKenzie on 01629 57029 or directly from the Medway Centre in Bakewell.