Cock and Bull at Tabard Theatre

The fruitful but fractious partnership between W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan

When the play opens, we are in W.S.Gilbert's study in Grim's Dyke, his home in Harrow. The year is 1911, and Sir Arthur Sullivan, Gilbert's partner for a quarter of a century, has been dead for just over a decade. With reference to their journals and to the many letters that passed between them, the famous pair revisit the highs and lows of their collaboration; the rocky journey from Thespis, the first opera in the series, to The Grand Duke, their fourteenth and final offering.

A thing of 'songs and snatches' exploring the soap behind the operas! Participation is gently encouraged; song sheets will be provided so the audience can join in the choruses. 'Here's a How-De-Do'!

Written by and starring John Griffiths — familiar to Tabard audiences from The Mikado and HMS Pinafore — alongside Robert Hazle, Cock and Bull is a fast-paced, 80-minute comic romp through the triumphs, scandals, songs and backstage secrets of Gilbert & Sullivan.