Showing results by author "W.S. Gilbert" in All Categories

Frederick is freed of his indentures to the ferociously temperate Pirates of Penzance. What will he do with his newfound freedom?

Stanley Holloway reads a selection of Gilbert's Bab Ballads, the light verse which when published were accompanied by his own comic drawings.

WS Gilbert – The Bab Ballads. Before Gilbert was part of the famous Gilbert & Sullivan opera team, he wrote light verse that was very odd but arrived at a logical conclusion...we think! Luckily, the joyous Stanley Holloway is on hand to read and make sense of it all.

A collection of the funny, curious verse written during the 19th and 20th centuries, read by some of Britain's most renowned actors. Humorous and whimsical verse are collated together in these timeless readings of poetry from our funniest writers. Performed by Sir John Gielgud; Imogen Stubbs; Tim Pigott-Smith; Peter Orr; Wendy Hillier. 

In this captivating recording, a single narrator brings to life the entire play, embodying all characters and even the stage directions. While the absence of Arthur Sullivan’s enchanting music and the flair of live actors may alter the experience, the delightful absurdity of Gilbert’s libretto shines through, providing endless entertainment. The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu is a comic opera in two acts, crafted by the brilliant duo of Arthur Sullivan and W. S. Gilbert, marking their ninth of fourteen operatic collaborations. Premiering on March 14, 1885, in London, the production enjoyed...

Dive into the whimsical world of Patience, a delightful comic operetta that cleverly satirizes fashion, pretension, and the phenomenon of hero-worship. Follow the story of Bunthorne, a poet who adopts an exaggeratedly idealized persona to win the admiration of the ladies around him. All are enraptured by his charm, except for Patience, the unassuming dairy maid who holds his heart. The plot thickens with the arrival of Grosvenor, a rival whose charisma and poetic flair outshine Bunthornes. As the women flock to Grosvenor, Bunthorne resorts to cursing him with poor fashion sense and weight gain...

Dive into the whimsical world of The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty, a delightful comic opera crafted by the brilliant duo of Arthur Sullivan and W. S. Gilbert. Join Frederic, who, upon turning 21, is unexpectedly released from his apprenticeship to a band of kind-hearted pirates. His heart soon leads him to Mabel, the charming daughter of Major-General Stanley, and their love story unfolds with comedic twists. However, Frederic discovers a peculiar snag his birthday only comes every leap year on February 29. Bound by an unwitting commitment to the pirates for another 63 years, ...

LISTINGS: The Sphinx Without a Secret by Oscar Wilde. Mr & Mrs Dove by Katherine Mansfield. Angela by W.S. Gilbert. Perilous Play by Louisa May Alcott. The Singing Lesson by Katherine Mansfield. The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion by Thomas Hardy. Genefer by Sabine Baring-Gould. The...

Explore the intricate tapestry of human emotions and relationships in "Gretchen," a podcast that delves into the themes of mystery, love, and the complexities of identity. Each episode features a new complete audiobook that invites listeners into stories where characters grapple with their pasts and the enigmatic figures who shape their destinies. The title suggests a haunting presence, inspiring a collection of narratives that examine the intersection of longing and loss, as well as the shadows cast by unresolved connections. This is not a single story but a series of unique explorations that...

LibriVox volunteers bring you 19 recordings of The Ghosts' High Noon by W. S. Gilbert. This was the Weekly Poetry HALLOWE'EN project for October 24th, 2010.

LibriVox volunteers bring you 26 recordings of The Disagreeable Man by Sir W. S. Gilbert. This was the Fortnightly Poetry project for June 10, 2012.The Bab Ballads are a collection of light verse by W. S. Gilbert, illustrated with his own comic drawings. Gilbert wrote the Ballads before he became famous for his comic opera librettos with Arthur Sullivan. In writing the Bab Ballads, Gilbert developed his unique "topsy-turvy" style, where the humour was derived by setting up a ridiculous premise and working out its logical consequences, however absurd. The Ballads also reveal Gilbert's cynical ...

LibriVox volunteers bring you 21 recordings of The Magnet and The Churn by W. S. Gilbert. This was the Weekly Poetry project for April 26, 2020. ------ A bit of frivolity in these trying times. This Weekly Poem is taken from Bab Ballads and Savoy Songs by W. S. Gilbert. - Summary by David Lawrence

Sir William Schwenck Gilbert was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for the fourteen comic operas (known as the Savoy operas) produced in collaboration with the composer Arthur Sullivan. The most famous of these include H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and one of the most frequently performed works in the history of musical theatre, The Mikado. Gilbert's creative output included over 75 plays and libretti, and numerous short stories, poems and lyrics, both comic and serious. After brief careers as a government clerk and a lawyer, Gilbert began to focus, ...

King Claudius, when a young man, wrote a five-act tragedy which was damned, and all reference to it forbidden under penalty of death. The King has a son - Hamlet - whose tendency to soliloquize has so alarmed his mother, Queen Gertrude, that she has sent for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to devise some Court revels for his entertainment. Rosencrantz is a former lover of Ophelia, to whom Hamlet is betrothed, and they lay their heads together to devise a plan by which Hamlet may be put out of the way. Some Court theatricals are in preparation.

This is the sweet story of a paralyzed man in Venice who sees out of his window a young girl across the way. Unbeknownst to her, she brightens his days over the course of several years, and he begins to fall in love with her. One day he throws out a flower into the canal between them to say "good morning", and she responds in kind. They still haven't spoken a word, but his heart is lifted. Until, that is, the young maid grows up, and the gondolier boys start calling on her.

A drama from the Gilbert of Gilbert and Sullivan. Pursued by the Parliamentary Army after the Battle of Worcester, some Royalist soldiers take cover in Dan'l Druce's hut on the Norfolk Coast until they can escape. An event with long shadows that come back to disturb his life fourteen years later. - Summary by ToddHW Cast list: Sir Jasper Combe, a Royalist Colonel: Andrew James Dan'l Druce: Adrian Stephens Reuben Haines, a Royalist Sergeant: Alan Mapstone Geoffrey Wynyard, a Merchant Sailor: Tomas Peter Marple: ToddHW Joe Ripley, a Fisherman: Son of the Exiles Sergeant of the Parliamentary Army...

This comedy is by Gilbert on his own without Sullivan. "Listen to me. You love this girl?" "I love her sir, a'most as weel as I love mysel' !" "Then reflect how you are standing in the way of her prosperity." "Sir, I'm puir on pocket, but I've a rich hairt." - Summary From The Play Cast list: Cheviot Hill, a young man of property: Matthew Reece Belvawney, his friend: skypigeon Mr. Symperson: Alan Mapstone Angus Macalister, a Lowland peasant lad: ToddHW Major McGillicuddy: Craig Franklin Belinda Treherne: Emmi Kranz Minnie, Symperson's daughter: Jenn Broda Mrs. Macfarlane, a Lowland widow: ...

Tom Cobb: "Why, there's a squalid old pauper idiot, a patient of his, who's got no name of his own, and Whipple [Doctor] christened him "Tom Cobb", because he says he's the ugliest old lunatic he ever saw and reminds him of me. And all the boys in the neighborhood have taken it up, and he's been known as Tom Cobb for the last two years. That's pleasant of Whipple.... One Tom Cobb's enough at a time!" What happens to young Tom if the old Tom dies and all young Tom's bills are now erased since he be dead. But isn't. And if potential heirs of the young Tom decide to submit the young Tom's will in...

A comic operetta which is a satire on the themes of fashion and pretension and hero-worship. Bunthorne is a poet who pretends to be highly "idealised" in order to impress the ladies. They all worship him, except for Patience, the dairy maid, who is the only one he loves. However, his grand plan goes awry with the arrival of Grosvenor who is more idealised and more poetical then he is. The ladies all flock after Grosvenor instead, until Bunthorne curses him with poor fashion sense and stoutness! But will the curse bring Bunthorne his Patience? (Summary by Beth Thomas) Cast: Reginald Bunthorne: ...

Subtitled "An Original Dramatic Contrast", the play presents two neighbors, Harry and Jenny, parting in Act 1 and then meeting again 30 years later in Act 2 after Harry's return from India. - Summary by ToddHW Cast list: Mr Harry Spreadbrow: Rob Marland Wilcox, a Gardener: ToddHW Miss Jenny Northcott: Jenn Broda Ruth, a Maidservant: Sonia Stage Directions: MichaelMaggs Editing: ToddHW