Topsy-Turvy

Summary

After the disappointing reception of their opera Princess Ida, the celebrated Victorian partnership of composer Arthur Sullivan and librettist W.S. Gilbert reaches a creative impasse, with Sullivan eager to pursue serious music and Gilbert stung by accusations of relying on tired formulas. A visit to a Japanese exhibition in London inspires Gilbert to write what becomes The Mikado, and the film follows the troubled, meticulous process of bringing the new work to the stage.