First off is Ko-Ko, the Lord High Executioner of Titipu. Formerly, he was the town's tailor, until he found himself imprisoned and sentenced to death for flirting, and then raised to the position of Lord High Executioner. Our Ko-Ko was a somewhat ridiculous figure. His entrance is built up by the men's chorus singing "Defer to the Lord High Executioner," and then on struts this little, bumbling chap who has to jump up and down to be seen behind the noblemen of Titipu. He is inclined to get over-excited or carried away, finding himself falling from one mishap to another.
Next is Nanki-Poo, wandering minstrel, heir to the throne of Japan and Ko-Ko's rival in Yum-Yum's affections. To be honest, Nanki-Poo is a character I don't feel I know too well due to lack of an actor for many rehearsals. He is a young man, though it seems that the life of a musician has taken its toll on him for he looks more like the Mikado's younger brother than his son. He has a knack of getting his own way, though whether that is by design or accident is not clear. I would be inclined to say Nanki-Poo is a manipulative, somewhat spoilt young prince, who knows that Ko-Ko would give up his betrothed rather than see Nanki-Poo end his life.
If Ko-Ko is Lord High Executioner, Pooh-Bah is Lord High Everything Else: a pompous, hypocritical contradiction of a man. He, too, is well versed in getting what he wants, in this case by treating those things as a penance for his "family pride" - ie, taking every important role in the town - and their salaries - giving information in return for "insulting" bribes. Pooh-Bah takes his duties, position and ancestry very seriously indeed - perhaps just as well, for no one else, excepting perhaps Ko-Ko, does.
Pish-Tush is another nobleman of Titipu, one more understated in his manner than Pooh-Bah. Where Pooh-Bah asserts his position and authority at every opportunity, Pish-Tush assumes it, without the need to shout from the rooftops.
Yum-Yum is the eldest and most beautiful of Ko-Ko's wards, and is pledged to marry him, probably because she is just too sweet-tempered to refuse. She has been pampered and perhaps a little spoilt - she is very aware of her good looks and their power, but not in a bratty sort of way. She is devoted to Nanki-Poo, and yet Yum-Yum is no doormat. She loves Nanki-Poo, but at the end of the day, she loves Yum-Yum even more. When she has to choose between her fiance and her life, she chooses life, because, after all, "Burial alive - it's such a stuffy death." Luckily, however, it doesn't come to that.
Pitti-Sing, otherwise known as me, seems to be the eldest sister, certainly the most dominant. She knows the conventions of what a young unmarried Japanese girl should be and do, and acts the part very well. But underneath, if circumstances call for it, Pitti-Sing is a bold, mouthy and flirtatious girl, very much a modern woman. It is Pitti-Sing who stands up for her sister and future brother-in-law against the terrifying Katisha, disregarding Katisha's threats and sneering at her: "The state of your connubial views towards the person you accuse does not concern us!" It is Pitti-Sing who joins in with Ko-Ko and Pooh-Bah in their tales of Nanki-Pooh's execution. I can imagine her overhearing Ko-Ko begging Pooh-Bah to go along with his story, and deciding it sounds a bit of a lark and that if she were to back them up the Mikado might be more likely to believe a woman - especially a beautiful one.
Poor Peep-Bo seems to have been largely neglected by Gilbert, apparently put into the show to be a third voice in the harmonies where necessary. She is quieter than her sisters, but, like them, is not all sweetness and light. She has a catty tongue on her. I wonder if she is jealous of Yum-Yum getting all the attention? She ruins Yum-Yum's wedding day by reminding her that her married bliss will be imperfect and won't last long. She even seems to enjoy the discomfort she causes her sister, making comments about happiness being "cut short" and that its ending might "take the top off things" for Nanki-Poo, which she says so sweetly and innocently. I think it a shame that there wasn't space in the show to develop Peep-Bo's character any more, but her few words say a lot.
The Mikado himself has apparently been portrayed as a villain or a comic character, but our Mikado was neither of these. He was terrifying, admittedly - the chorus are rather alarmed by his laughter in "the punishment fits the crime," but our Mikado was played straight-faced. The great thing about Gilbert and Sullivan is that no one bats an eyelid about the extreme punishment - decapitation - for "the youth who winked a roving eye or breathed a non-connubial sigh." The Mikado is very much like this. He doesn't let his personal feelings get in the way of the law, harbouring no ill-feelings to those who have (allegedly) executed his son, and is sorry to have to sentence them to death, but the law is the law and there's no altering that. I believe the Mikado has a shrewd mind and is well aware that Ko-Ko's snickersnee has been nowhere near Nanki-Poo's cervical vertibrae - he just wants to make Ko-Ko et al sweat a bit.
And finally, Katisha. Dear old Katisha. She is a ghastly old cat who has sunk her claws into Nanki-Poo, and by combination of her impressive manner, terrifying make-up and gloriously swishy outfit (think Phantom of the Opera cloak built into a kimono,) terrifies everything. She is very full of her own importance - the Mikado may be Emperor of Japan, but she's Katisha, his Daughter-In-Law Elect. She's got the Mikado wrapped around her little finger - or believes she has, at any rate; I think the Mikado allows her to think so for the sake of a little peace and quiet - and has been desperately trying to weave Nanki-Poo into the mix as well. She has an unexpected soft spot, however, when it comes to suicidal dickie-birds, the tale of which causes her to set her sights on the Lord High Executioner of Titipu, in the absence of Heirs Apparent to the throne of Japan. Needless to say, she's most displeased to discover that that cheeky young upstart of a Yum-Yum has snatched the title of Future Empress of Japan from under her nose. I can't imagine life in the Ko-Ko-Katisha household will be boring, if nothing else!
