‘Cultural Appropriation!’: Theater Forced To Rewrite Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Set In Japan By Leftist Bullies

In 1885, Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado opened in London, and ran for nearly 700 performances. Set in Japan, the opera tells the story of a government that seeks to outlaw flirting, and the consequences that follow. The opera was set in Japan because of the British public’s attraction to exotic foreign locales. One of the goals: to set the piece outside Britain so as to properly satirize British society without fear of blowback.

In any case, the work was never meant to be racist. And the music is clearly written in a stereotypical Asian style. So setting a production of it in Renaissance Italy, for example, would be silly in the extreme.