Editing Gilbert and Sullivan (section)

===Gilbert before Sullivan===
{{main|W. S. Gilbert}}
Gilbert was born in London on 18 November 1836. His father, [[William Gilbert (author)|William]], was a naval surgeon who later wrote novels and short stories, some of which included illustrations by his son.<ref name=CrowtherLife>Crowther, Andrew. [http://gsarchive.net/gilbert/life/long_bio.html ''The Life of W. S. Gilbert''], ''The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive'', accessed 21 August 2012.</ref> In 1861, to supplement his income, the younger Gilbert began writing illustrated stories, poems and articles of his own, many of which would later be mined as inspiration for his plays and operas, particularly Gilbert's series of illustrated poems, the ''[[Bab Ballads]]''.<ref>Stedman, pp. 26–29, 123–24, and the introduction to Gilbert's ''[[Foggerty's Fairy and Other Tales]]''</ref>

In the ''Bab Ballads'' and his early plays, Gilbert developed a unique "topsy-turvy" style in which humour was derived by setting up a ridiculous premise and working out its logical consequences, however absurd. Director and playwright [[Mike Leigh]] described the "Gilbertian" style as follows:

{{quote|With great fluidity and freedom, [Gilbert] continually challenges our natural expectations. First, within the framework of the story, he makes bizarre things happen, and turns the world on its head. Thus the Learned Judge marries the Plaintiff, the soldiers metamorphose into [[Aesthetics|aesthetes]], and so on, and nearly every opera is resolved by a deft moving of the goalposts... His genius is to fuse opposites with an imperceptible sleight of hand, to blend the surreal with the real, and the caricature with the natural. In other words, to tell a perfectly outrageous story in a completely deadpan way.<ref name=Leigh/>}}

[[File:Poster for Gilbert and Clay's Ages Ago at the Royal Gallery of Illustration.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|Poster for ''[[Ages Ago]]'', during a rehearsal for which [[Frederic Clay]] introduced Gilbert to Sullivan]]Gilbert developed his innovative theories on the art of stage direction, following the playwright and theatrical reformer [[Thomas William Robertson|Tom Robertson]].<ref name=CrowtherLife /> At the time Gilbert began writing, theatre in Britain was in disrepute.<ref>Bond, Jessie. [http://gsarchive.net/books/bond/intro.html ''The Reminiscences of Jessie Bond: Introduction''], ''The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive'', accessed 21 May 2007.</ref>{{refn|Jessie Bond created the [[mezzo-soprano]] roles in most of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas and is here leading into a description of Gilbert's role in reforming the Victorian theatre.<ref>Bond, Introduction</ref>|group=n}} Gilbert helped to reform and elevate the respectability of the theatre, especially beginning with his six short family-friendly comic operas, or "[[German Reed Entertainments|entertainments]]", for [[Thomas German Reed]].<ref>Stedman, pp. 62–68; Bond, Jessie, [http://gsarchive.net/books/bond/intro.html ''The Reminiscences of Jessie Bond'': Introduction], ''The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive'', accessed 21 August 2012</ref>

At a rehearsal for one of these entertainments, ''[[Ages Ago]]'', in 1870, the composer [[Frederic Clay]] introduced Gilbert to his friend, the young composer [[Arthur Sullivan]].<ref name=CrowtherAgesAgo>Crowther, Andrew. [http://gsarchive.net/gilbert/plays/ages_ago/crowther_analysis.html Ages Ago – Early Days], ''The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive'', accessed 21 August 2012</ref>{{refn|Gilbert and Sullivan met at a rehearsal for a second run of Gilbert's ''[[Ages Ago]]'' at the [[Gallery of Illustration]], probably in July 1870.<ref>Crowther (2011), p. 84</ref>|group=n}} Over the next year, before the two first collaborated, Gilbert continued to write humorous verse, stories and plays, including the comic operas ''[[Our Island Home]]'' (1870) and ''[[A Sensation Novel]]'' (1871), and the blank verse comedies ''[[The Princess (play)|The Princess]]'' (1870), ''[[The Palace of Truth]]'' (1870) and ''[[Pygmalion and Galatea (play)|Pygmalion and Galatea]]'' (1871).<ref>Stedman, pp. 77–90</ref>