Nineteenth Century English Librettist W.S. Gilbert wrote the words and composer Sir Arthur Sullivan wrote the score for fourteen comic operas, in a collaboration that lasted 25 years.

Their quarter of a century long partnership began in 1871, when the pair were brought together by theatre manager Richard D’Oyly Carte. Gilbert and Sullivan are perhaps best known for their comic operas: The Mikado, H.M.S Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance, The Yeomen of the Guard and Iolanthe.

The pair were first brought together in 1871 to produce a Christmas extravaganza for West End theatre owner John Hollingshead, but their first operatic collaboration wasn’t until 1875, when Gilbert’s libretto for Trial by Jury was in need of a composer, leading to a first operetta and the start of a working relationship then endured for many years.

The pair’s collaboration reached its peak in the late 1870s and 1880s, following the encouragement of Richard D’Oyly Carte whose company produced popular Gilbert and Sullivan works at London’s Savoy Theatre and elsewhere. The D’Oyly Carte company was dedicated to the works of Gilbert & Sullivan, and continued long after the deaths of composer and librettist, keeping a somewhat moribund performance tradition alive right into the 1970s.

Our Nocturne Supper Club Evening with Gilbert and Sullivan is the last one being presented in Brockham, Surrey in 2023. It's becoming an annual affair! The event is based on themes from G & S's most popular comic operas. The live performance will be led by a trio of talented singers from the National Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company. In keeping with the "topsy-turvy" world of Gilbert and Sullivan, we will present their witty and light hearted collaborations in the contemporary style of karaoke, with audience participation!