The wonderful partnership of Gilbert & Sullivan produced memorable comic operas. Although the partnership wasn’t always smooth sailing, it was a lasting friendship. This continued throughout the mens lives right until the end. Theirs was a partnership that had a massive impact on boosting the career of both men. And helped shape the future of musical theatre. Discover our ten … Read More
The portraits of W.S. Gilbert
The National Portrait Gallery currently has 13 portraits associated to Sir William Schwenck Gilbert. What’s interesting about all of Gilbert’s portraits is how they all show him as a natural sitter. His relaxed stance is evident in all of those later years portraits and he seems to be equally at home in front of a painter or a camera. Harry … Read More
W.S. Gilbert’s Dulcamara
Dulcamara, otherwise known as The Little Duck and the Great Quack, was W.S. Gilbert’s first piece of stage-work. It came about through a chance conversation between Tom Robertson and Miss Herbert, lessee of Saint James’s Theatre in London. Miss Herbert was after a Christmas piece – the only downside was she needed it written in a fortnight! Dulcamara, or The … Read More
Gilbert & Sullivan Reunited over Utopia, Limited
Following on from the infamous ‘carpet quarrel’, Gilbert and Sullivan had gone their separate ways. However, Carte and his wife worked unsuccessfully, to reconcile the pair. In 1891. Tom Chappell stepped in to mediate and, two weeks later, they reconciled. This resulted in two more operas – Utopia, Limited being one of them. Production on Utopia, Limited Work didn’t immediately … Read More
John Harvey, W.S. Gilbert and the boat that bonded them
John Harvey was a yacht builder from Essex. Father to actor, Sir Martin Harvey, he designed and built W.S. Gilbert’s second boat – the Chloris, a 110 ton yawl with a lead keel. During the spring of 1881 W.S. Gilbert spent a lot of time corresponding with John Harvey about his new yacht. It was nearly twice the size of … Read More
Victorian Composer Frederic Clay
English composer Frederic Clay, was a great friend of Arthur Sullivan, who he subsequently introduced to W.S. Gilbert at the Gallery. Together, Clay and Gilbert produced four comic operas, before a stroke paralysed Clay at the age of 44 and cut short his productive life. Cay died in 1889, aged 51 when he was found drowned in the bath at … Read More
Arthur Playfair – The dancing corporal
Arthur Wyndham Playfair was an actor and singer. He appeared in a couple of William Schwenck Gilbert’s operas, as well as Edwardian musical comedies, and also created roles in Victorian burlesques. Born on the 20th October in 1869, Playfair started life in Ellichpur, a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. He made his first appearance on the British stage … Read More
Marie Litton – English actress and theatre manager
Born Mary Jessie Lowe in 1847, Marie Litton was an English actress who made her Haymarket debut playing Zayda, in Gilbert’s ‘The Wicked World’, in 1873. She went on to become a theatre manager who produced several of W.S. Gilbert’s plays. Marie Litton’s stage debut Marie Litton made her London stage debut playing the title character in Dion Boucicault’s play … Read More
W.S. Gilbert’s fairy play: The Wicked World
The Wicked World was W.S. Gilbert’s third fairy play. It was a dramatization of Gilbert’s own illustrated story ‘The Wicked World’, originally published in Tom Hood’s 1871 ‘Comic Annual’. This half joking dramatization took Gilbert several months to write. It centred on the action within a twenty-four-hour period, focusing on a fairyland scene floating above the world. Broken down into … Read More
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern: A time when W.S. Gilbert was king
Known for having a genuine affection for amateur actors, Sir William Schwenck Gilbert was keen on performing as an amateur actor himself. He would occasionally write short plays to be used as charity performances and to raise funds for local hospitals. Frequently, he’d encourage his friends and colleagues to become part of the performing cast and Gilbert himself, was also known to take on the odd acting … Read More