Jane McGowan catches up with Sasha Regan, the acclaimed director behind the all-male versions of some Gilbert & Sullivan classics
The music is just stunning. It makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up,” says director Sasha Regan who is bringing Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Mikado to Richmond this month.
The production is the latest G&S comic opera following on from the acclaimed HMS Pinafore and Pirates of Penzance, to be given the all-male treatment by the award-winning Regan, and she is hoping the success of the other two shows will ensure good audiences for the Mikado.
“A touring production is hard as you only have a few nights in one venue but you still need to get the crowds in,” Regan says.
So what drew the director, who has had great success with musicals such as Annie Get Your Gun and Sweeney Todd to the works of Gilbert and Sullivan.
“Above all they are very silly and very British,” explains the 44-year-old mother of two. “Some people think of these shows as museum pieces and they have been performed time and time again with the same arrangement and costumes. But I didn’t want to do that and they actually offer a great deal of freedom for a director.”
Regan says the idea of a one-sex cast came from her days performing in an all-girls’ school and that the young men bring a great energy to the 100-year-old piece. In this latest version, set in the 1950s, a group of upperclass English schoolboys embark on a camping trip to the far off land of Titipu, where they find love and a little bit more than they bargained for.
“It’s exciting because we are keeping it very youthful” says Regan. “It’s very energetic, lots of movement, and there is an innocence about the boys and the time which works very well. We also use West End performers rather opera voices to keep the sound more youthful.”
Harriet Buckingham
The cast of The Mikado rehearse
Regan developed her love of directing while studying drama at St Mary’s University College in Twickenham. But after becoming frustrated at the lack of opportunity, she and another actress decided to form their own company. In 1998, and with help from the Prince’s Trust, Regan bought a dilapidated archway in Southwark, with the aim of staging a few productions in the small studio. What became the Union Street Theatre quickly morphed into a centre of theatrical excellence on the south London arts scene, with Regan consistently delivering big shows in its compact space.
“We have moved across the road now to some fantastic premises,” says Regan proudly. “It’s hard work running the theatre and directing and being a mum but I love all of it.”
Regan says that once The Mikado is on tour, she will return her focus to Union Street, which now has a Youth Theatre to manage, as well as a full summer programme of plays and events to schedule and promote. But this won’t stop her keeping an eye on The Mikado.
“I will be popping in on the boys at various venues during the run,” shesays with a giggle. “I like to check they’re doing what they’re supposedto be doing.”
- Richmond Theatre, May 23 – 27; atgtickets.com
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