Movies - Topsy-Turvy

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	Movies - Topsy-Turvy

Topsy-Turvy is a 1999 film which tells the background story of the creation of The Mikado, a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta. It was written and directed by Mike Leigh, and stars Allan Corduner as Sir Arthur Sullivan and Jim Broadbent as William S. Gilbert.

It received the Academy Award for Best Costume Design and the Academy Award for Makeup.

Synopsis

The film begins on the opening night of Princess Ida, and Sullivan takes ill from a kidney disease. Because he is sick, he goes on a vacation to Continental Europe in the hope that the rest will make him better. While he is away, ticket sales at the Savoy Theatre plummet. Richard D'Oyly Carte revives The Sorcerer due to Ida's unpopularity.

Gilbert's new idea for an operetta 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 a stand-off occurs. It is relieved when Gilbert is inspired by a falling katana he bought at a Japanese exhibition to write an operetta set in Japan.

Sullivan likes the idea and agrees to compose for it. After many stressful rehearsals, The Mikado is ready to be showed. The operetta 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 use of heroin, Sullivan's mistress implying that she will seek 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 all show different aspects of British society and life at the time.

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