Topsy-Turvy
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- This article is about the 1999 film. For the Sing-Along Songs video, see .
Topsy-Turvy is a 1999 film that tells the background story of the creation of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado in 1884-1885. It was written and directed by Mike Leigh and stars Allan Corduner as Arthur Sullivan and Jim Broadbent as W. S. Gilbert.
Topsy Turvy received the Academy Award for Best Costume Design and the Academy Award for Makeup.
Plot
The film focuses on the creative conflict, and the momentous decision that the author (Jim Broadbent) and composer (Allan Corduner) made that led to the creation of several more famous collaborations between them: Should they continue to work together or go their separate ways? The film begins on the opening night of Princess Ida. Sullivan (Allan Corduner), who is ill from kidney disease, is barely able to make it to the theatre to conduct. He goes on a vacation to Continental Europe in the hope that the rest will improve his health. While he is away, ticket sales and audiences at the Savoy Theatre wilt in the hot summer weather of 1884. Ida closes, and Richard D'Oyly Carte (Ron Cook) revives an earlier Gilbert and Sullivan work, The Sorcerer.Gilbert's idea for their next opera does not impress Sullivan, who says he longs for something that is probable, not dependent on magic. Gilbert refuses to write a new libretto, and there is a stand-off. The impasse is resolved when Gilbert is inspired by a falling katana (sword) he had bought at the popular Japanese exhibition in Knightsbridge, and he proposes to write a libretto set in Japan. Sullivan likes the idea and agrees to compose the music for it.
After many glimpses of rehearsals, some of them stressful, and other interesting details involved in preparation of the show, The Mikado is ready to open. It is greeted with resounding approval.
Victorian society
While the film deals primarily with the production of The Mikado, it also shows many aspects of 1880s British life. George Grossmith's (Martin Savage) use of heroin, Sullivan's mistress (Eleanor David) implying that she will obtain an abortion, three actors' discussion of the destruction of the British garrison at Khartoum by the Mahdi, a private concert, a conversation about the use of nicotine by women, and Gilbert being accosted by a beggar (Brid Brennan), all show different aspects of British society and life at the time. The film also accurately shows the Savoy Theatre as having electric lighting. In fact it was the first, and at the time one of the few public buildings in Britain, to use electricity. The film also shows a very early use of the telephone.Background and production
The movie was filmed beginning 29 June 1998 in the United Kingdom. Its budget was $20,000,000.Cast
- Dorothy Atkinson as Jessie Bond, who plays Pitti-Sing
- Brid Brennan as mad beggar
- Jim Broadbent as W. S. Gilbert
- Ron Cook as Richard D'Oyly Carte, manager of the Savoy Theater
- Allan Corduner as Sir Arthur Sullivan
- Eleanor David as Fanny Ronalds, Sullivan's mistress
- Dexter Fletcher as Louis, Sullivan's butler
- Vincent Franklin as Rutland Barrington, who plays Pooh-Bah
- Louise Gold as Rosina Brandram, who plays Katisha
- Kenneth Hadley as Pidgeon, Gilbert's butler
- Shirley Henderson as Leonora Braham, who plays Yum-Yum
- Lesley Manville as Lucy Gilbert
- Kevin McKidd as Durward Lely, who plays Nanki-Poo
- Wendy Nottingham as Helen Lenoir, who works at the Savoy Theater
- Eve Pearce as Gilbert's Mother
- Cathy Sara as Sybil Grey, who plays Peep-Bo
- Martin Savage as George Grossmith, who plays Ko-Ko
- Michael Simkins as Frederick Bovill, who plays Pish-Tush
- Sukie Smith as Clothilde, Sullivan's maid
- Timothy Spall as Richard Temple, who plays the Mikado
Reception
The movie received a 86% rating at Rotten Tomatoes and a 90 at Metacritic, indicating that critical reception was overall positive. In the United States, the film grossed $6,208,548 in total, and $31,387 on its opening weekend. In the United Kingdom, the film grossed £610,634 in total and £139,700 on its opening weekend.Notes
External links
- [Topsy-Turvy] at The Gilbert & Sullivan Discography
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