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 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 Paul Farrah Sound
also did the sound, and Ned Sherrin directed.
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 and Side By Side By Sondheim 30th Anniversary
Gala.
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,
and, The Great Musicals – Laughter And Tears.
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 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, 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.
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 West End.
The Metropolitan Mikado appears to have been the first
time Louise Gold was actually noticed by the 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” Michael Leech, PLAYS & PLAYERS, December 1985
"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 Paul Webb, one hot summer’s day, while Louise was appearing in
Follies at The Royal Festival Hall. Although the interview is ostensibly about
her role in Follies she also talks about her other Sondheim performances, along
with:
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