Derby Gilbert & Sullivan Company its first production, "The Mikado", received such a favourable response that they changed their name to Derby Gilbert & Sullivan Company to more clearly reflect the new city base and repertoire of the company. In the 1980s, the company played a couple of 'guest weeks' at the Buxton Opera House with "The Mikado" and later "The Yeomen of the Guard". Under the direction of co-founder Andrew Nicklin, the company began to build a reputation for presenting updated, or "non-traditional" G&S productions. Under Nicklin, the company took "The Mikado" to The International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival in Buxton, England, in 1996,
Cultural influence of Gilbert and Sullivan "Topsy-Turvy" (1999) is an award-winning film depiction of the team and the creation of their most popular opera, "The Mikado". Another G&S film is the 1953 "The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan" (or "The Great Gilbert and Sullivan" in the U.S.), starring Robert Morley as Gilbert and Maurice Evans as Sullivan, with Martyn Green as George Grossmith. In a short 1950 film called "The Return of Gilbert and Sullivan", Gilbert and Sullivan return to Earth to protest the jazz treatment of their work. In the 1951 film "The Magic Box" Sir Arthur Sullivan, played by the film conductor, Muir Mathieson,