MetroPolitan Mikado
or The
Town Of
Louise Gold
played Katisha, Countess of Grantham, at Queen Elizabeth Hall 1 - 17 August
1985 (previews from 30 July 1985)
-Caricaturing
Mrs Thatcher, this was the first time Louise was really noticed by the
Cast
The Prime Mikado (A dashing
figure in a flak jacket - based on Michael Hesaltine) - Robert
Meadmore
Boy Ken (Formerly leader of the
GLC, now disguised as a wandering pop star, and in love with Yum-Yum - based on
Ken Livingstone) - Martin Smith
Sir Ko-Ko (Chief Police
Comminssioner of Mitsubishi, noted for his tough approach, his small feet and
his big ears - based on Kenneth Newman) - Simon Butteriss
Pooh Bach (Minister for
everything else. Formerly Neil Kinnock - based on Neil Kinnock) -Martin
Connor
Sir Alistar Pish (Media Person
and Front Man for News at Eight - based on Alistair Burnet) - David
Firth
Sir Robin Tush (Another Media
Person and Front Man for News at Eight - based on Robin Day) - Dudley
Stevens
Yum Yum (Former Page Three Girl
in the Sun and now finalist in the Voice for London Contest) - Rosemary Ashe
Pitti-Sing (another former Page
Three girl on the Sun and now finalist
in the Voice for London Contest) - Jenny Wren
Peep-Bo (another former Page
Three girl on the Sun and now finalist
in the Voice for London Contest) - Lynne Kieran
Katisha (Countess of Grantham,
elder stateswoman and widow - based on Margaret Thatcher) - Louise
Gold
Chorus of Scrubbers, Media Hacks,
Security Men and Sycophantes - Wendy Baldock, Carole Cox, Tamsin Dives, Liza
Hobbs, Debbie Holmes, Molly MacKenzie, Gail Mortley, Sally Ann Triplett,
Anthony Barrett, David Chilton, Phillip Curtis, Karl Daymond, George Freeburn,
Glyn Kerslake, Tim Menah, Richard Mitchell, William Pool and Meston Reid.
Production Team
Freely adapted from - Gilbert And Sullivan by Ned Sherrin and Alistair Beaton
Presented by - The GLC (Greater London Council) by arrangement with Raymond Gubbay Ltd
Director - Ned Sherrin
Designer - Daphne Dare
Musical Director John Owen Edwards
Musical Staging - Lindsay Dolan
Lighting Designer - Benny Ball
Sound Design - Paul Farrah Sound
There seems to
have been some confusion (amongst the critics) over who exactly the character
of Sir Alistair Pish was based on: Stephen Windos in City Limits
says it was Alistair Milne, while Rodney Milnes in The
Spectator says it was Alistair Burnet, and, Harold Atkins
in The Daily Telegraph says it was John Humphreys. However, Savoynet
list member, Stephen Turnbull has confirmed it was meant to be Alistair
Burnet.
Some members
of the cast, notably principles: Rosemary Ashe, Simon Butteris, Martin
Connor, David Firth, Louise Gold, Robert Meadmore, Martin
Smith, and Dudley Stevens, along with chorus members: Anthony
Barratt, David Chilton, Carol Cox, Philip Curtis, Karl
Daymond, Tamsin Dives, George Freeburn, Liza Hobbs, Debbie
Holmes, Glyn Kerslake, Tim Menah, and, Meston Reid
subsequently reprised their performances from this show when they appeared in A Concert of Musical
Highlights from The Ratepayers; Iolanthe & The Metropolitan Mikado .
Which was also produced by Raymond Gubbay Limited and presented by The
GLC. It also had most of the same production team (except for the sound
design).
Rosemary
Ashe, Louise Gold, Robert
Meadmore, and, Dudley Stevens went on to appear in a concert
production of Dudley Stevens’s musical The
Soap Opera .
Some thirteen
or fourteen years later, Louise Gold and The Mikado's
Katisha would cross paths again. In the film Topsy
Turvy, which focuses on the making of The
Mikado, and in which Louise played Rosina Brandram, the actress who
created the role of Katisha in the original production of The Mikado.
Louise sings one of Rosina’s original numbers
From Every Kind Of Man Obedience I Expect (which she had sung a spoof version of in
this show Mitsubishi Marubeni),on the Topsy Turvy (Soundtrack album)
Simon
Butteriss also went on to appear
in Topsy Turvy, where he played a Chorus member and appears on the film soundtrack
album Topsy Turvy (Soundtrack album)
Louise Gold was already no stranger to G&S having
appeared in The Pirates Of Penzance
(film) and The Pirates of
Penzance (stage show), as a member of the latter cast she had also appeared
in The Pirates Of
Penzance (Gala Performance), The Pirates Of Penzance
(Gala Preview), The
Pirates Of Penzance (Benefit Preview), and the 1982 Royal Variety Performance.
Robert
Meadmore comes from a family
tradition of being involved with G&S: His father and brother have
both run World Of Gilbert And Sullivian (aka WOGS), the major
rival to G&S For All. In addition, his father variously: was an ASM
for The Doyly Carte, handled the business side of G&S For All,
and encouraged his comrades in The old Romford Civil Defence Force to
performer various G&S operettas, including The Mikado
where he too played the title role.
Louise Gold, meanwhile, comes from a family tradition of
being involved with political satire, amongst other things, Her mother appeared
in Lionel Bart’s Nyebevanthe or The Budget Opera skit on Iolanthe
in the 1953 Unity Theatre revue Turn
It Up.
Alistair
Beaton was also a writer of the
Political Satirical TV show Spitting Image,
for which Louise Gold was a fairly significant member of the
puppeteering and voice-artiste team.
Louise Gold went on to appear in another Ned Sherrin
and Alistair Beaton stage show, Ziegfeld
(stage show). Some of Ned Sherrin and Alistair Beaton’s work
features on the cast album Ziegfeld
(recording).
Ned Sherrin went on to be a narrator on Noel/Cole: Let’s Do It and Ned Sherrin’s Review Of Revue both of which also
featured Louise Gold.
Political-Satirical
actress Louise Gold went on to play another caricature of Margaret
Thatcher in Sink The Belgrano. She went on
to play her properly (side and back views only) on television in The Alan Clark Diaries.
Robert
Meadmore may have gone on to
appear in Will-Aid, for which
Louise Gold and Robert Meadmore went on to appear
together on television in Julia And Company;
they would be reunited some 14 years later in Side By Side By Sondheim; and still
later performing at Hubert Gregg’s Memorial Service. While aong with Sally Ann Triplett and Ned
Sherrin they also took part in the 25th
Anniversary Gala of Side By Side,d Side By Side By Sondheim 30th Anniversary
Gala, and, Shopping With The Stars
2008.
Sally Ann
Triplett went on to appear on
stage in The Villain's Opera, and, Happily
Ever After; and on television in Rita Rudner.
David Firth, Louise Gold, Liza Hobbs and Richard Mitchell later sang on the JAY/TER recording of On The Town and along with William Pool on the Anything Goes (recording) which were also conducted by John Owen Edwards
Martin
Smith’s recording credits
include: Great Duets From The
Musicals, The Great Musicals - Wonderful
Tales, and, The Great Musicals – Glamour
And Majesty.
Louise Gold has gone on to sing under the musical direction
of John Owen Edwards on: Anything
Goes (recording) - Website Recommended Album,
Cabaret, The
Best Of Broadway Musicals, Great
Duets From The Musicals, Encore - The Very Best From
The Musicals, Cole Porter - Night
And Day, The
Greatest Musicals of the 20th Century, The History Of The Musical, Centre Stage Showtime!, The Great Musicals - Wonderful Tales, The Great Musicals – Glamour And Majesty, The Great Musicals – Laughter And Tears, Magic Of The Musicals, The Best Of The Musicals, 100 Hits Musicals, Let’s Go On With The Show – Hit Songs From
The West End & Broadway, and, The
Great Musicals - From Broadway to Hollywood.
Robert
Meadmore,
Martin Smith and Ned
Sherrin went on to appear in Kids At Heart.
Martin Smith, and, Ned Sherrin may
have gone on to appear in Comedy Tonight
Martin
Smith, Ned Sherrin and Lindsay
Dolan went on to work on A Time To Start Living
Glyn
Kerslake, Ned Sherrin and Lindsay
Dolan, along with Jenny Wren
went on to work on Chicago & Company
Ned Sherrin and Martin Smith went on to work on Broadway To Brighton
Louise Gold and David Firth went on to appear in Love Life, Assassins and Man Of La Mancha
Louise Gold went on to star in another show produced by Raymond
Gubbay Ltd on
Robert
Meadmore, and, Sally Ann
Triplett’s recording credits include Simply
Musicals, and, 100 Hits Musicals which
also features an orchestra conducted by John Owen Edwards.
Robert Meadmore’s recording credits include The Great Musicals – Dashing Heroes,
Blushing Maidens, which also features an orchestra conducted by John Owen Edwards.
Robert Meadmore, and, Sally Ann Triplett
have gone on to appear in A Love Letter To
Dan.
Martin Smith’s recording credits include The
Great Musicals – Laughter And Tears.
Rosemary Ashe, and, Sally Ann Triplett’s
recording credits include Magic Of The
Musicals, which also features an orchestra conducted by John Owen Edwards.
After Ned Sherrin’s death The Company Of Mary Poppins late
night Theatrecares special was dedicated to him.
Louise Gold went on to cross paths with the legacy of Miss
Rosina Brandram in 2003, by appearing in a production of The Gondoliers (as The Duchess Of Plaza-Toro - a
role originated by Miss Brandram), funnily enough this production also
included some additional material by Alistair Beaton, which Louise got
to sing.
Rosemary Ashe went on to originate the role of Miss Andrew in the stage version of
Mary Poppins, a role which Louise Gold took over in the
Sally Ann Triplett’s recording credits include The Best Of The Musicals.
Liza Hobbs, Sally Ann Triplett, Debbie Holmes, and, Ned Sherrin may have gone on to take part in Thing A Thon.
Ned
Sherrin went on to take part in CLIC’s 18th Birthday
Celebration.
The
Metropolitan Mikado appears to have been the first time Louise Gold was
actually noticed by the national critics. I’m not sure that Harold Atkins’s
exoneration was entirely correct. I also wonder whether Carol Woddis realised
the irony of her comment (Katisha was played by one of
Critics Comments
“But Katisha, Countess
of Grantham, screaming and over-doing sadistic touches, has been made too
extreme – not the fault of Louise Gold, personifying Mrs Thatcher. Caricatures
should have bounds.” Harold Atkins, DAILY TELEGRAPH, 5 August 1985.
"A disquieting
portrait of Mrs Thatcher - foulmouthed and grimly libidinous. Louise Gold
stomps around to glorious effect" Jim Hiley, THE OBSERVER, 4 August
1985.
“....and no prizes for guessing who the
awesome middle-aged Katisha has become in this farrago entitled The
Metropolitan Mikado. Indeed as a hatchet-faced leaderene in retirement Louise
Gold turns in one of the best portrayals of the whole mad evening”
"Louise
Gold extracts every ounce of unsullied triple entendre" Tom
Sutcliffe THE GUARDIAN, 2 August 1985
“The Countess of
Grantham unveils a libido hitherto unsuspected, while her puppet, the Prime
Mikado, does credit to Steve Bell’s invocations of him. In short, whether your
inclinations are musical or political, it’s a delight.” Carol Woddis,
CITY LIMITS, 9 August 1985
Links about The Metropolitan Mikado
TheatreNow.Com
interview: Gold On Stage: Louise Gold In Follies: http://www.theatrenow.com/asp/link.htm?news.asp?art=3430&cat=1 This is an interview carried out
by Theatre.Com’s
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