Topsy-Turvy



Topsy-Turvy is a 1999 film written and directed by Mike Leigh that focuses on the partnership of Gilbert and Sullivan when they reach a crossroads in their career.

After earning disappointing reviews for Princess Ida, Sir Arthur Sullivan (Allan Corduner) decides to unilaterally dissolve his partnership with William Gilbert (Jim Broadbent) creating comic operas for the Savoy Theatre. To get his mind off his troubles, Gilbert's wife, Kitty, drags him to the Japanese Village in Knightsbridge and he is inspired to write The Mikado.

Topsy-Turvy was nominated for four Academy Awards and won for Best Costume Design and Makeup.


 * Comedy Ghetto: In universe. Sullivan's motive for wanting to move away from comic operas to more serious fare, such as symphonies.
 * Costume Drama
 * Did Not Do the Research: Averted in Real Life. Leigh and his actors did extensive research into the Victorian era and the lives of the individual characters. One notable slip-up was when Gilbert refers to the capital of Norway as Oslo when the city was called Christiania at the time.
 * Eureka Moment: Gilbert is inspired to write The Mikado when a mounted samurai sword falls off his wall.
 * Girl Friday: Helen Lenoir to Richard D'Oyly Carte.
 * Last-Name Basis: By the time of the film, Gilbert and Sullivan have worked together for more than 20 years but still refer to each other by their surnames.
 * Loads and Loads of Characters
 * Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: In-universe. Actor Durward Lely is a Scotsman who affects a posh Southern English accent on stage and in most of his public dealings. Except when angered.
 * Potty Emergency: Two actors get food poisoning from bad oysters and feel the effects during separate meetings with the owner of the Savoy Theatre.
 * The Prima Donna: While many of the senior members of the acting troupe have prima donna tendencies, the worst offender is the troupe's choreographer.
 * Sexless Marriage: Despite having an affectionate, loving relationship, William and Kitty Gilbert sleep in separate rooms.
 * The Show Must Go On: Despite painful kidney disease, Sullivan rouses himself out of bed to conduct the orchestra on Princess Ida's opening night.
 * Victorian London