"THE MIKADO"
The First Inaugurating Production of 
South Shields Amateur Operatic Society
SSAOS 1918 production

Operas Written by W S Gilbert to the music of  Arthur S Sullivan

Arthur S(eymour) Sullivan (1842 - 1900) the composer who, with W(illiam) S(chwenk) Gilbert,(1836 - 1911) established the distinctive English form of the operetta. Gilbert's satire and verbal ingenuity were matched so well by Sullivan's unfailing melodiousness, resourceful musicianship, and sense of parody that the works of this unique partnership won lasting international acclaim.

Sullivan  was the son of an Irish musician who became bandmaster at the Royal Military College. His mother was of Italian descent. His first comic opera ('Cox and Box') was produced  in collaboration with Sir Francis Cowley Burnand in 1867 and later that year they again collaborated  in an operetta, the 'Contrabandista'. Thespis (1871), the first work in which Sullivan collaborated with Gilbert, met with little success when produced at the Gaiety Theatre in London.

 It was Richard D'Oyly Carte, then manager of the Royalty Theatre, who brought the two men together again in 1875; the result was 'Trial by Jury', which was originally put on as an afterpiece to an Offenbach operetta It won instant popularity and ran for more than a year. D'Oyly Carte thereupon formed the Comedy Opera Company, with a view to presenting full-length operettas by Gilbert and Sullivan. He was to build the Savoy Theatre in 1881 to house these productions and from then on the collective works of Gilbert and Sullivan became known as the 'Savoy Operas'. 

The "MIKADO" totted up the longest first Savoy run of any of the Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas. It went on from its home base to become a classic both in its original version and, in translation, on the Continental stage. In European theatres, for more than a decade, "DER MIKADO"  held a position as the most successful musical ever to have been adapted from the English-language theatre.

(Notes adapted from Encyclopaedia Britannica).

1831 Arthur Sullivan was knighted by Queen Victoria

1907 W S Gilbert  was knighted by King Edward VII

• SSAOS Production of "THE MIKADO" at Queen's Theatre, Mile End Road, South Shields, 22nd - 27th April, 1918

Cast
  (see note below *)

It was reported that the show was both an artistic and financial success, and raised £200 for the Trust Fund. Ticket prices at that time ranged from 3s 6d (17 ½p today) for a seat in the Grand Circle to 1s 3d (6p) in the Pit Stalls.
1918 - 1919 Officials of the Society President- Ald. J W Henderson J P Chairman - J C Whiteley Hon Secretary - E Greenwood Hon Treasurer - H C Satterthwaite Committee Messrs. A J Hutchison, W Meek, J Patton, M Bray, Robt. F Harbottle, (Vice-Chairman) Miss Mary Carmichael, Miss I M Peat, Miss Mabel Lawson, Miss Madge Carling (Asst. Sec.)
	* NOTE: It is unfortunate there is no record of a programme having been produced for this show. If there is a reader who has knowledge of any such programme, or even knowledge of the cast, please contact rondrew@iee.org so that the details may be included on this page. IF YOU CAN - PLEASE HELP For information  about the founding of the Society and notes about  this first show, "THE MIKADO", click on History Back to Shows Index