Maleny Singers present hilarious ‘The Mikado’

Surely a show in which the lead role is an Executioner can't really be funny, can it? The Maleny Singers have been presenting comic opera for a long time now, and this year brings one of WS Gilbert's most hilarious scripts. The Mikado, set in an imaginary Japan, but with real classical Japanese dress imported specially for this show, has everything: splendid costuming, lines that will have you splitting your sides laughing, and of course Sullivan's magical music to frame it all.

The plot has the young and handsome son of the Mikado disguising himself as an itinerant musician in order to avoid being forcibly married to a much older and uglier woman of his father's court. Of course in his wanderings he falls in love with a young and beautiful woman, avoids death by execution, and manages to sing a few songs along the way. While the storyline is essentially comic, there are some really moving moments, most notably as the elderly Katisha comes to realise that she won't after all marry her young and handsome beau. Sullivan's musical genius makes these moments particularly memorable.

Those of you who regularly follow the Maleny SIngers will recognise many of the lead performers, but there are new faces also, who bring their particular skills to the performance. And of course, with Margaret Taylor's expert direction, the show has the quality we have come to expect from the Singers. See it at the Maleny Community Centre on June 8.9.15 and 16. Tickets at Trybooking.com.

Ruth and Ian Rix (a married couple in real life) in a scene where the blood-thirsty Katusha marries Koko, the executioner.