Parallel to Singing in the Rain: Topsy-Turvy

[UTUSN]

********QUOTE******* (from Wiki)

Topsy-Turvy is a 1999 British musical drama film written and directed by Mike Leigh and stars Allan Corduner as Sir Arthur Sullivan and Jim Broadbent as W. S. Gilbert, along with Timothy Spall and Lesley Manville. The story concerns the 15-month period in 1884 and 1885 leading up to the premiere of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado. The film focuses on the creative conflict between playwright and composer, and the decision by the two men to continue their partnership, which led to the creation of several more famous Savoy Operas between them.

The film was not released widely, but it received very favourable reviews, including a number of film festival awards and two design Academy Awards. While considered an artistic success, illustrating Victorian era British life in the theatre in depth, the film did not recover its production costs. Leigh cast actors who did their own singing in the film, and the singing performances were faulted by some critics, while others lauded Leigh's strategy. ....

Gilbert, Sullivan and Carte work to make The Mikado a success, and many glimpses of rehearsals and stressful backstage preparations for the show follow: Cast members lunch together before negotiating their salaries. Gilbert brings in Japanese girls from the exhibition to teach the ladies' chorus how to walk and use fans in the Japanese manner. The principal cast react to the fittings of their costumes designed by C. Wilhelm. The entire cast object to Gilbert's proposed cut of the title character's Act Two solo, "A more humane Mikado," which persuades the playwright to restore the solo. The actors face first-night jitters in their dressing rooms. Finally The Mikado is ready to open. As usual, Gilbert is too nervous to watch the opening performance and paces the streets of London. Returning to the theatre, however, he finds that the new opera is a resounding success. ....

Film professor Wheeler Winston Dixon wrote that the film "uses the conventions of the biographical narrative film to expose the ruthlessness and insularity of the Victorian era, at the same time as it chronicles, with great fidelity, the difficulties of a working relationship in the creative arts. ... Topsy-Turvy is an investigation into the social, political, sexual and theatrical economies of the Victorian era".[6]

While the film deals primarily with the production of The Mikado, it shows many aspects of 1880s British life. Scenes show George Grossmith's use of morphine; Sullivan's mistress, Fanny Ronalds, implying that she will obtain an abortion; three actors' discussion of the destruction of the British garrison at Khartoum by the Mahdi; a private salon concert; a conversation about the use of nicotine by women; Sullivan's visit to a French brothel; and Gilbert being accosted outside the theatre on opening night by a beggar. The film also depicts the Savoy Theatre as having electric lighting; it was the first public building in Britain – and at the time one of the few buildings there of any kind – to be lit entirely by electricity. Another scene shows an early use of the telephone. These scenes, some based on historical incidents, depict different aspects of Victorian society and life at the time. ....

********UNQUOTE********

[Glorfindel]

1. I've seen it. Very good movie, quite funny.

I wondered at the time how historically accurate it was. Good to know that it was well-researched.

[UTUSN]

2. We had a discussion about Singing in the Rain & I decided it was of a piece:

* Depiction of a specific period

* Play-within-play

* Set piece performances


For me, love this one.