The performers are young, the sets are fun and meet the expectations of today's theatre-goers

John Owen Edwards, D'Oyly Carte

After years of being seen as outdated, the maestros of satirical light opera are experiencing something of the popularity they had in their heyday under Queen Victoria.

The Savoy Theatre, the spiritual home of the original Gilbert and Sullivan company D'Oyly Carte, is reaping the rewards with healthy advance bookings for The Pirates of Penzance.

The D'Oyly Carte Company returned to the Savoy in 2000 after 11 years away. It had finally found the backing it needed both to meet London costs and tour after being updated and relaunched.

Gilbert portrayed women as two-faced

"We are bringing in younger audiences than before because of the freshness of the productions," he says.

"By 1982, the company was old and stale, still reading from Gilbert's prompt books and in danger of becoming a museum relic.

"Now, the performers are young, the sets are fun and meet the expectations of today's theatre-goers."

The Pirates of Penzance pokes fun at the seemingly questionable virtue of "sense of duty" and some of Britain's most cherished institutions.

The police are a target for poking fun

And there are many songs - such as A Policeman's Lot Is Not A Happy One - that many will recognise even if they did not realise they were from Gilbert and Sullivan.

"Once you persuade people to come and see a show, they are surprised by how much they enjoy it," says Edwards.

"Gilbert's wit is still marvellous and Sullivan's music is still the best quality light music that exists."

But he adds: "People underestimate how difficult it is to put on. You have to hear all the words being sung because they are good and carry a lot of plot.

"The music is as tight as Mozart and when the two come together it is a wonderfully frothy experience."

Sunset Boulevard

The Pirates of Penzance has always been one of the most popular of the 15 Gilbert and Sullivan works.

It also takes the credit for establishing international copyright. It was given British and US premi�res within a day of each other in 1879.

Leigh's Topsy Turvy was a big hit

This effectively stopped people "pirating" the music abroad. Edwards suggests it may be the tongue-in-cheek reason for the title, since the pirates were originally going to be burglars.

Another Gilbert and Sullivan favourite is the Japan-based The Mikado. Despite its setting, the piece is about British hypocrisy.

In 2000, British film director Mike Leigh made a splash with Topsy Turvy, which followed the staging of The Mikado and the tense relationship between Sullivan and Gilbert.

Leigh is best known for social realism in films such as Secrets and Lies. He insisted that the works of Gilbert and Sullivan made just as much of a social comment as his movies.

The success of Topsy Turvy set the ball rolling on a Gilbert and Sullivan revival that neatly coincided with D'Oyly Carte's return to The Savoy.

For Edwards, it was all the endorsement he needed to confirm his belief in their work.

"I was in LA when the film came out and to see Gilbert and Sullivan on big billboards on Sunset Boulevard was just fabulous," he says.

"When you think the pieces were written in the 19th Century, it proved that they are still big and have real staying power."

The Pirates of Penzance runs until 16 June at The Savoy Theatre.