The Mikado at Bath’s Theatre Royal

Following her critically acclaimed all-male productions of H.M.S. Pinafore, Iolanthe and The Pirates of Penzance, Sasha Regan makes a welcome return to Bath to present one of Gilbert and Sullivan’s most famous operettas, The Mikado. Appearing at the Theatre Royal from Monday 10 to Saturday 15 July, the joyous show brings cheer to the West Country this summer direct from a London season at Wilton’s Music Hall.

Gilbert and Sullivan’s satire on the English establishment and much-loved music are married with Sasha Regan’s wicked sense of fun in this unmissable, uplifting tonic. The Mikado is traditionally set in Japan, but Regan’s inventive production transposes the storyline to 1950s England and an all-boys school camping trip to the far away land of Titipu. In this witty tale of love, corruption in local government, marriage and heroics, topsy-turvy capers abound when the son of the Mikado flees his father’s imperial court and falls for Miss Violet Plumb, who is betrothed to the Lord High Executioner. Perfect entertainment for all the family, Gilbert and Sullivan’s humorous masterpiece features the songs A Wand’ring Minstrel I, Behold the Lord High Executioner and Three Little Maids from School Are We.

The sensational cast have performed in a wide range of productions in the West End and nationwide. Returning to Bath, following their memorable performances with Sasha Regan’s company at the Theatre Royal before are Richard Russell Edwards, who plays Hebe Flo, Sam Kipling, who plays Miss Violet Plumb, and David McKechnie, who appears as Mr Cocoa. The company also features Declan Egan as Bertie Hugh, Lewis Kennedy as Mikado, George Dawes as Wilfred Lush, Aidan Nightingale as Albert Barr, Owen Clayton as Bluebell Tring and Christopher Hewitt as Kitty Shaw. They are joined by the Ensemble featuring Harry Cooper-Millar, Oliver Bradley-Taylor, Patrick Cook, Struan Davidson, Francisco Gomes, Elliot Akeister and Shane Antony-Whitely.

Sasha Regan's award-winning all-male G&S Company are returning to Theatre Royal for the first time in more than five years. The company has previously entertained Bath audiences with their hugely successful all-male versions of The Pirates of Penzance in 2015, H.M.S. Pinafore in 2016, The Mikado in 2017 and Iolanthe in 2018.

Director Sasha Regan was awarded the Special Achievement Award at the 2017 Off-West End Awards for her contribution to musical theatre. Her 2022 production of H.M.S. Pinafore for Regan De Wynter Williams was nominated for the Best Opera Production Award at the Offies.

Regan’s idea to transform these much-loved classics into all-male productions stems from her own experience performing Gilbert and Sullivan at a single-sex school. Her shows are renowned for playing on the unique humour it creates.

Musical director for The Mikado is Anto Buckley with choreography by Adam Haigh. Design is by Ryan Dawson Laight with casting by Adam Braham and the show is produced by Regan De Wynter Williams.

Sasha Regan’s all-male The Mikado last toured in 2017. It arrived at Wilton’s Musical Hall this June, hot-on-the-heels of Regan’s smash hit all-male H.M.S. Pinafore and her award-winning The Pirates of Penzance, which toured the UK and Australia. Her other widely acclaimed G&S hits include Patience (Critics Choice) and the Iolanthe (Critics Choice and Time Out’s Top 10 Musicals).

With music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, The Mikado was the ninth of their fourteen operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, where it ran at the Savoy Theatre for 672 performances, the second-longest run for any work of musical theatre and one of the longest runs of any theatre piece up to that time. By the end of 1885, it was estimated that, in Europe and America, at least 150 companies were producing the opera. The Mikado remains to this day the most frequently performed Savoy Opera, and one of the most frequently played musical theatre pieces in history. A hit around the globe, it has been translated into numerous languages.