: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.