Topsy-Turvy by Mike Leigh

A film script at the play reading night? These are topsy-turvy times indeed!

"In Topsy-Turvy Mike Leigh, that master of contemporary British tragi-comedy, transports us back to 1880s London and the lives of those much-loved masters of comic opera, Gilbert and Sullivan. Leigh explores the collaboration of lyricist Gilbert, a complex individual childlessly married to a devoted wife and composer Sullivan, a brothel-hopping bon viveur with an American mistress. Having enjoyed a stream of successes, they abruptly suffer an unprecedentedly lukewarm press for their newest opus, Princess Ida. Owing impresario D'Oyly Carte a hit, the increasingly frustrated Gilbert finds Sullivan's ideas increasingly far-fetched and 'topsy-turvy'. Then, Gilbert's wife lures him to a London exhibition of Japanese culture, and he perceives the inspiration for The Mikado."

The screenplay appears to be currently out of print but you can get second hand copies from Amazon and eBay.