UTOPIA, LIMITED ~ May 2025
G&S WA is pleased to present the penultimate operetta by WS Gilbert & Arthur Sullivan, Utopia, Limited.
This rarely performed and lushly tropical G&S gem will be directed by Alan Needham (Ruddigore, HMS Pinafore), with musical direction by emerging artist, Bayden Adams.
A delightfully absurdist Victorian satire, Utopia, Limited depicts an imaginary island obsessed with British values and parodies the privatisation of public institutions, imperialism, and parliamentary peculiarities, with newspapers fixated on royal scandal.
The island kingdom of Utopia is ruled by King Paramount, a benign head of state covertly controlled by his powerful courtiers Scaphio and Phantis, and the constant threat of explosion.
Princess Zara, Paramount’s eldest daughter, having recently returned from many years at a British college, is keen to transform Utopia into a civilized society. Her English experts (the Flowers of Progress) advise all manner of Victorian Anglophile adoptions, from fashions and polite customs to the concept of persons as limited-liability entities, granting Utopians profits and personal immunity.
However, this disrupts the future plans of the courtiers, and they manage to convince the citizens of Utopia that the King is not to be trusted with his idealised actions to bring peace and prosperity to their island among the waves. Who will ultimately rule paradise?
Bubbling with burlesque wit and invention, Utopia, Limited is a must-see for G&S fans keen to complete the canon of one of the most successful musical theatre duos in history!
“Sophistication and wit are at the heart of Utopia, Limited” – The Opera Critic
“A rare chance to discover a wonderful score.” – Bachtrack
“The score is Sullivan at his most mature, elegantly interleaving ensembles, solos and choruses, and lightly brushed with orchestral magic.” – The Spectator
THE MIKADO ~ October 2025
G&S WA is proud to present one of Gilbert and Sullivan’s most popular works, the much loved The Mikado.
Set in a Gilbertian fantasy of Far East medieval Japan, this will be a vibrant and colourful new staging (creatives to be confirmed shortly).
Nanki-Poo, the in-disguise royal son of the Mikado, has fled court to avoid an arranged marriage. He arrives in the town of Titipu seeking the beautiful Yum-Yum, only to find she is engaged to Ko-Ko, the Lord High Executioner – previously arrested on the charge of flirting.
When an edict from the Mikado demands a quota execution, soft-hearted Ko-Ko finds he cannot bring himself to kill anyone… Meanwhile, Nanki-Poo declares he cannot live without Yum-Yum and plans to end it all. An idea is ignited to give them both what they want.
However, the arrival in town of the spurned Katisha turns everything topsy-turvy. Amid matchmaking mischief and preposterous plots, the tangled web unravels; will the punishment fit the crime?
One of the world’s most famous musical comedies, The Mikado’s self-deprecating humour satirised the established social norms of etiquette and bureaucracy in Victorian England.
Don’t miss this absolute delight – a sensational night at the theatre!
“One of Gilbert and Sullivan’s best-loved operettas” – The Reviews Hub
“The Mikado contains many of the duo’s best songs and lyrics” – Bachtrack
“guaranteed a laugh and a thoroughly entertaining experience.” – Australian Stage
- Dates: TBC
- Tickets: TBC
- Dolphin Theatre - 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley WA 6009
Production Dates
TBC Matinees, TBC Evenings
Dates for Season 2025 shows TBC