Topsy-Turvy
prev.
play.
mark.
next.

:53:00
- Gilbert.
- Sullivan. May I?

:53:02
- Certainly.
- Morning, D'Oyly.

:53:04
- Good morning, Miss Lenoir.
- Good morning.

:53:06
Good day, Helen.
:53:12
Now, gentlemen.
We all know why we're here.

:53:14
We seem to have come
to something of a standstill.

:53:17
- Indeed we have.
- Which, Arthur, is because...

:53:21
Oh.
:53:23
Because, Helen...
:53:24
...I am unable to set the piece
that Gilbert persists in presenting.

:53:28
The piece I persist in presenting
is substantially altered each time.

:53:32
Otherwise there'd be little point
in my presenting it to you.

:53:36
With respect, old chap,
it is not substantially altered at all.

:53:39
You seem merely to have grafted
on to the first act...

:53:42
...the tantalising suggestion
that we are to be in the realms of...

:53:46
...human emotion and probability...
:53:48
...only to disappoint us by reverting to
your familiar world of Topsy-Turvydom.

:53:53
That which I have grafted on to Act One,
Sullivan, has been at your request.

:53:57
But if you take exception
to Topsy-Turvydom...

:54:00
...you take exception to a great deal
of my work of the past 25 years.

:54:03
Not to mention much of what you and I
have written together since 1871.

:54:07
- That is patent balderdash!
- Is it?

:54:09
Gentlemen, if we might keep things
cordial, we may make some progress.

:54:13
Arthur, can you really not see
your way to setting this new piece?

:54:16
- Alas, Helen, I cannot.
- Cannot or will not?

:54:20
I am truly unable to set any piece
that is so profoundly uncongenial to me.

:54:24
Uncongenial though it may be to you...
:54:27
...I must remind you that we here
are conducting a business.

:54:30
May I remind you, Helen,
that I am not a machine.

:54:33
I would not suggest for one moment
that you were.

:54:35
You all seem to be treating me
as a barrel organ.

:54:38
You have but to turn my handle...
:54:40
...and out pops a tune!
- That's not strictly true.

:54:42
- Arthur.
- Come now, that's unfair.

:54:45
You are both contractually obliged
to supply a new work on request.

:54:48
The very act of signing a joint contract
dictates that we must be businesslike.

:54:53
Yes, Mr Gilbert.
:54:55
And I was wondering whether "you" might
be able to solve our wee difficulty.


prev.
next.