Topsy-Turvy

Topsy-Turvy
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Mike Leigh
Written by	Mike Leigh
Produced by	Simon Channing Williams
Starring	Jim Broadbent Allan Corduner Timothy Spall Lesley Manville Ron Cook
Cinematography	Dick Pope
Edited by	Robin Sales
Music by	Sir Arthur Sullivan W. S. Gilbert Carl Davis
Production company	Thin Man Films
Distributed by	Pathé Distribution
Release dates	3 September 1999 (1999-09-03) (Venice) 15 December 1999 (1999-12-15) (United States) 18 February 2000 (2000-02-18) (United Kingdom)
Running time	160 minutes[1]
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Box office	$7.2 million (U.S./U.K.) [2][3]

Topsy-Turvy is a 1999 British musical period drama film written and directed by Mike Leigh, starring Jim Broadbent as W. S. Gilbert and Allan Corduner as Sir Arthur Sullivan, along with Timothy Spall, Lesley Manville and Ron Cook. 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 their decision to continue their partnership, which led to their creation of several more Savoy operas.

The film received very favourable reviews, film festival awards and two Academy Awards for design. While it is considered an artistic success as an in-depth illustration of British life in the theatre during the Victorian era, 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.