Mikado takes the biscuit

Cork 2005: Simon Butteriss is polishing up his patter for the Carl Rosa production of The Mikado, which begins its Irish tour tomorrow. He likes to drop in recognisable local references, and as the company is visiting four different locations on this visit he has a lot of study to do.

For the week-long run in Cork from October 31st his performance as Ko-Ko will have to bring in some Lee-side allusions, but having done this work all over the world he seems, so far, untroubled by the task.

"Really this is a show about small-town politics, and when we get the patter right people think we've rewritten the entire libretto," he says. "Of course that's not the case - the original satire was so sharp it still works, but there always were topical references and this production is based on the original Gilbert and Sullivan production."

It also borrows from the Mike Leigh film Topsy Turvy, which gave an account of the operetta's genesis and geniuses (and in which Butteriss appeared). The Oscar-winning costume design for that movie was itself based on the 1953 film The Gilbert and Sullivan Story, costumes the Carl Rosa Company now owns. But artistic director Peter Mulloy also managed to acquire both the sets and the costumes designed for the more recent film, and these are used in the current theatre production. Built as old-fashioned painted flats, the sets are exactly in the style of Victorian stage dressing and are ideally suited to the Carl Rosa Company ethos of authenticity and tradition.

Any suggestion that after a world tour the production must be sagging a little by now is cheerfully dismissed by Belfast soprano Maeve Morris, who sings Yum-Yum. "Gilbert's prompt book is so vague you can interpret it in a number of ways and it always seems to stay fresh. The show isn't a museum piece, although we're trying to present it in the spirit of the original - it was quite daring for its time, you know!"

Getting that across to participants in the special schools programme The Mikado at Midterm on November 2nd at the Opera House will do a lot to encourage a whole new generation of enthusiasts; the history, the music, the lyrics, the personalities and the conventions of the era will all be explained in a session which ends in time for the matinee performance. It is also aimed at members of the CoOpera8 scheme which allows secondary school students independent entry to all Opera House events for €8.

Although both Butteriss and Morris work extensively outside light opera they express a shared affinity for the Carl Rosa Company and for Peter Mulloy's approach to Gilbert and Sullivan. Butteriss especially admits that the Lord High Executioner is a role he loves, so he clings on to it for as long as he can: "Gilbert and Sullivan were the only people who wrote something for someone as short as I am!"

* The Mikado is at The Helix, Dublin, tomorrow and Wed; Castlebar Thur and Fri; and Limerick Sat and Sun, before the week-long run at the Cork Opera House from Oct 31. Details about the CoOpera8 secondary school scheme from coopera8@corkoperahouse.ie or 021-4905217.