The Mikado is one of the most performed comic operas in the world, a massive, enduring hit for both professional and amateur companies.

Meltham Parish Church Gilbert and Sullivan Society is hoping to cash in on this popularity with its forthcoming production of the 1885 work by the world famous composer and librettist partnership.

Set in Japan, an exotic location for the original Victorian audiences, with a cast of amusing and bizarrely-named characters, it is jam packed with songs that will be familiar to most - from the harmonious A Wand’ring Minstrel I and cheeky Three Little Maids From School Are We, to the uplifting The Flowers That Bloom in the Spring. It’s a real sing-a-long show.

Meltham’s Mikado will star one of the society’s founder members, Denis Armstrong, in the leading role. Denis was a member of the chorus in the society’s first-ever show, HMS Pinafore, 51 years ago. He is heading an extraordinarily experienced cast that includes Graham Weston as the Lord High Executioner Ko-Ko, a role that won him a Best Supporting Actor Award at the International G & S Festival.

Graham is a member of the West Yorkshire Savoyards - so named because The Savoy Theatre was home to Gilbert and Sullivan - and has produced for Huddersfield Gilbert & Sullivan Society for the past decade.

The producer for the Meltham production, however, is James Newby and the musical director is John Schofield, who has also had a long association with the society. Among those taking the leading roles are: Paul Richmond as Nanki-Poo; Gerald Tinson as Pooh Bah; Michael Robinson as Pish Tush; and Di Schofield as Katisha. The three little maids are Sandra Tinson, Maggie Lowe and Amee Bason. Corinne Lord is the accompanist and Ian Greenhalgh is the chorus master.

The Mikado can be seen from Tuesday to Saturday, November 18 to 22, at 7.30pm (matinee on Saturday at 2.15). Tickets are from £5 to £9, from Flower Box 01484 850771 or by calling Huddersfield 349037 or 850311.

The comic opera is named after the Emperor of Japan using the term mikado, which literally means ‘the honorable gate’ of the imperial palace, referring metaphorically to its occupant and to the palace itself.