Why the Mikado is Anti-Racist.

And why it must be set in Japan

I recently saw a production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s the Mikado renamed Il Ducato and set in Milan instead of Japan. This reminded me of another rewritten version I read about online called the MacAdo , which was set in Scotland. Both of these shows struck me as solution in search of a problem, and to switch metaphors, a case where the cure is worse than the disease. Il Ducato still had enough of the show’s original sparkle to be worth watching, but it didn’t benefit from the retelling in any way whatsoever. The only reason it was set in Milan is that this is the only Italian city whose name rhymes with “Japan”. (As does the word “Scotland”, sort of.) The only reason that the MacAdo was set in Scotland was that none of the people complaining about Apu on the Simpsons ever complained about the Scottish caricature of Grounds Keeper Willie. In both productions, there was no artistic reason for making the change. Instead, the show was artistically wounded in service of the allegedly higher goal of avoiding offense. Some of the best jokes had to be either cut or became incoherent. Some of the funniest scenes include an English madrigal and a sailor’s hornpipe performed in traditional Japanese costumes. A madrigal in Italian dress, or a hornpipe in Scottish kilts, doesn’t even try to be funny.

Celtic Chameleon expresses dislike of Scottish caricatures, but she rightly says that the only appropriate response to this dislike is to stay away from the theater and/or change the channel…