Gilbert and Sullivan and institutions more freely by clothing them in superficial Japanese trappings. Gilbert wrote, "The Mikado of the opera was an imaginary monarch of a remote period and cannot by any exercise of ingenuity be taken to be a slap on an existing institution." G. K. Chesterton compared it to Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels": "Gilbert pursued and persecuted the evils of modern England till they had literally not a leg to stand on, exactly as Swift did... I doubt if there is a single joke in the whole play that fits the Japanese. But all the jokes in the play fit
International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival its organizers' efforts to re-introduce G&S into British schools. The Festival has been featured in several British television shows and in the documentary films "Oh Mad Delight" and "A Source of Innocent Merriment". Sky Arts broadcast its features about the Festival and Gilbert and Sullivan several times in 2010. Recordings on DVD of most of the amateur and professional productions that have been seen at the Festival, as well as for some of the fringe events, are produced by the Festival organizers. Some of the Festival's professional shows are also available on CD. International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival The International