Tuesday 2nd - Saturday 6th November, 1999
Horsham Arts Centre

Chairman's Chat Story Cast List Production Crew

Chairman's Chat...
    by Tony Francis

Having been kindly retained as Chairman for yet another year, it is again my pleasure to welcome you all to Horsham Arts Centre and, what is HAODS' final presentation in the nineteen hundreds, "The Mikado".

        Those of you who are familiar with our history will realise that this show has been a long time coming - we have never performed it before! It's a well known, popular operetta; so why not? The answer lies in the fact that Horsham used to have another society which specialised in purely Gilbert & Sullivan, so when HAODS was first dreamt up by a handful of innovative people in November, 1953, a gentlemen's agreement was made that we should not present and G&S was returned to the "back burner". After almost fifty years, it is appropriate that "The Mikado" is being given an airing at the end of the century, as this was the last show in which several of our founder members appeared, using the old Capitol Theatre for the first time ever, just before HAODS was launched in 1954.

        As I began helping backstage in 1955 at the age of 13, I have watched HAODS develop throughout most of its existence and I'm sure its surviving instigators, some of whom are still Life Members, must feel proud of what they started: I know I do! Thus we have turned full circle; we have chosen two very experienced and talented Directors to be responsible for today's traditional version, Ian Gledhill and Stephen Hope (he's the one in the pit). Both are strongly committed to maintaining an extremely high standard, so we aim to round off the era in fitting style. I trust you will find the result enjoyable.
Here's to the next fifty years!

The Story...

Nanki Poo, the son of the Mikado, leaves home to escape the attentions of the elderly Katisha and, having joined the Town of Titipu, falls in love with Yum-Yum who has two sisters, Pitti-Sing and Peep-Boo. The three girls and the wards of Ko-Ko, the Lord High Executioner, who plans to marry Yum-Yum.

        Ko-Ko learns from the Mikado that his office will be abolished unless an execution takes place within a month. As a reprieved criminal he himself is the obvious choice so he decides to find a substitute. Nanki-Poo, in despair about Yum-Yum, agrees to be the substitute on condition that he marries Yum-Yum immediately. Katisha arrives to claim Nanki-Poo but is repelled by all. She attempts to reveal his true identity but her voice is drowned by Yum-Yum's friends and she departs in anger.
Yum-Yum is preparing for her wedding but is horrified to discover that she would have to be buried alive on Nanki-Poo's excecution. The Mikado approaches, Nanki-Poo and Yum-Yum flee and it is decided that the execution of the former must be proclaimed as if it had taken place. Accordingly, Poo-Bah, Pitti-Sing and Ko-Ko give an elaborate account of the "execution" to the Mikado.

        Katisha discovers the victim was Nanki-Poo and the three are condemned to die. To avoid this, Ko-Ko proposes to Katisha and marries her. She then pleads for mercy but is enraged to find that she has been deceived and that Nanki-Poo is still alive. The latter returns with Yum-Yum and is welcomed by the Mikado.

The Cast...

LADIES: Mary Cameron, Yvonne Chadwell, Heather Collins, Debbie Crunden, Irene Elborn, Sue Hickman, Pam Johnson, Cath Mattison, Juliet Sumner, Katherine Taylor. GENTLEMEN: Hugh Addy, Philip Chadwell, Steve Charlton, Howard Collis, Robin Edgar, Derek Hickman, Peter Hooker, Richard Johnson, Paul Smith, Gillie Weston.

The Production Crew...

STAGE CREW: Tim Ayres, David Fuller, Stuart Moon, Duncan Morton, Derek Mileham, Adrian Kidwell PROPERTIES: Joe Barnett, Mary Lejeune, Stella Lillywhite.
GREEN ROOM STEWARD: Carrie Collis.