Topsy-Turvy feat. Julia Sirmons

Hit Factory

Writer and resident Gilbert & Sullivan expert Julia Sirmons joins to discuss Mike Leigh's 'Topsy-Turvy', a story of the aforementioned musical duo and the production of one of their most popular shows, 'The Mikado'. It's a film that feels at once like an outliler in Leigh's career up to that point (his first film not set in contemporary working-class London) and a pitch-perfect culmination of many of his career-long explorations.

We begin with a discussion about the legacy of director Mike Leigh, his unusual method for drawing brilliant performances from his ensemble of some of the very best British actors, and his trademark style and narrative construction. Then, we unpack the works of Gilbert & Sullivan, exploring Topsy-Turvy's commitment to authenticity in its recreation of 19th century English theater culture, and the wise decision to focus the film on a particularly unstable moment in the long collaboration between the wordsmith and composer. Finally, we discuss the film's evocation of art and its production process, emphasizing the granular repetition of the work as well as the undergirding capitalist mechanics that necessitated performers assume a strong identity as a collective labor force.

Follow Julia Sirmons on Twitter.

Read Julia's recent piece on Sally Potter's 'The Tango Lesson' at Wig-Wag.

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.