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Topsy-Turvy
Directed by
Mike Leigh
R
1999
2h 40m
Drama
,
Comedy
,
and more
7.3
90%
79%
6.6
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Set in the 1880s, chronicles how during a creative dry spell, the partnership of the legendary musical/theatrical writers Gilbert and Sullivan almost dissolves, before they turn it all around and write the Mikado.
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Where to Watch Topsy-Turvy
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Cast of Topsy-Turvy
Jim Broadbent
W. S. Gilbert
Allan Corduner
Sir Arthur Sullivan
Timothy Spall
Richard Temple (The Mikado)
Lesley Manville
Lucy Gilbert
Ron Cook
Richard D'Oyly Carte
Wendy Nottingham
Helen Lenoir
Kevin McKidd
Durward Lely (Nanki-Poo)
Shirley Henderson
Leonora Braham (Yum-Yum)
Dorothy Atkinson
Jessie Bond
Martin Savage
George Grossmith
Eleanor David
Fanny Ronalds
Sam Kelly
Richard Barker
Andy Serkis
John D'Auban
Charles Simon
Gilbert's Father
Vincent Franklin
Rutland Barrington
Cathy Sara
Sybil Grey
Nicholas Woodeson
Mr. Seymour
Jonathan Aris
Wilhelm
Stefan Bednarczyk
Frank Cellier
Mark Benton
Mr Price
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Topsy-Turvy Ratings & Reviews
Shamus2k
November 3, 2025
A meticulous, humane exploration of creativity, compromise, and the messy beauty of making art.
Newsweek
David Ansen
The notion of art as an organically evolving process is crucial to Leigh. Almost alone among directors, he creates his scripts in the rehearsal period through improvisations.
Variety
Deborah Young
[A] beautifully crafted and lively romp around the 1880s stage world.
Houston Chronicle
Jeff Millar
If you are a Gilbert and Sullivan buff, you will be in heaven. If you are not, the first thing you will need to know is that the film is nearly three hours long.
San Francisco Chronicle
Bob Graham
The film is a delight and a surprise, all the more so since Leigh is associated with gritty working-class stories.
Entertainment Weekly
Lisa Schwarzbaum
You're likely to be moved to tears.
San Francisco Examiner
Wesley Morris
Mike Leigh's great big, superbly performed homage to the creative process.
Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert
Topsy-Turvy is about love of the theater. Romantic love ages and matures. Love of the theater, it reminds us, is somehow always adolescent -- heedless, passionate, guilty.
Austin Chronicle
Marc Savlov
A loving and lovely ode to the hoary theatrics of those reigning kings of Victorian tomfoolery, W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan.
TIME Magazine
Richard Schickel
There is a sense of real, very Mike Leighish, life in this film that darkens and transforms it. And transfixes us.
New York Magazine/Vulture
Peter Rainer
Though the film runs nearly three hours, it gets better as it goes along.
Film.com
Ernest Hardy
Leigh's deft hand with actors and sharp eye for character detail are still very much in evidence.
New York Daily News
Jack Mathews
A hive of broad, brilliant performances.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Steve Murray
Despite its draining length, it proves to be even better and richer on a second viewing.
Village Voice
J. Hoberman
The year's least likely, most infectious tour de force.
New York Times
Janet Maslin
One of those films that create a mix of erudition, pageantry and delectable acting opportunities, much as Shakespeare in Love did last year.
Los Angeles Times
Kenneth Turan
The performances cut deeper than usual for costume films, and the actors once again seem to literally become who they're playing.
New York Post
Jonathan Foreman
A charming, warm, witty movie, funny one minute and moving the next.
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