Jonathan Miller set his well-known production of The Mikado, staged for the English National Opera, in a British seaside resort of the 1920s. The result, complete with a chorus of gentlemen of Japan as cartoon-like British peers, emphatically underscores the Englishness of the satire. The occasional non sequiturs, like a bunch of gentry dressed for Ascot and singing in Japanese, are loonily fun, and no more absurd than the fantasyland Japan that Gilbert and Sullivan invented. The time frame, though, seems little more than an excuse for a smart black-and-white production design.
One Christmas, a knight garbed all in green appears in King Arthur's Court and challenges any knight to hew off his head on the proviso that he be allowed to return the axe stroke afterwards. All of King Arthur's other knights being frightened, Sir Gawain takes up the challenge and hacks off the green knight's head. The green knight then gives Gawain a year to find his home and live a little before the cut is returned.
Live from La Scala Friday 22 December 1989
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A zoo owner spirals out of control amid a cast of eccentric characters in this true murder-for-hire story from the underworld of big cat breeding.
An experimental look at sexual identity, redemption and grace – The Prodigal tells the tale of a young man, Mark, caught between two worlds; the world of his Christian father and that of a beguiling young man, Dean. This state of decision is depicted on screen by the vivid white beach where Mark is seen walking – alone, isolated and searching. His search leads him deeper into the waters of the ocean, even as he delves deeper into Dean’s world. This parallel visual interpretation provides a unique and important look at the issues that face our young generation, and the question that Mark – and each one of us – must face in this life. Are we ever in something so deep, and so far, that it is impossible to get back to shore?
