In 1871, John Hollingshead commissioned Gilbert to work with Sullivan on a holiday piece for Christmas, "Thespis, or The Gods Grown Old", at the Gaiety Theatre. "Thespis" outran five of its nine competitors for the 1871 holiday season, and its run was extended beyond the length of a normal run at the Gaiety, However, nothing more came of it at that point, and Gilbert and Sullivan went their separate ways. Gilbert worked again with Clay on "Happy Arcadia" (1872), and with Alfred Cellier on "Topsyturveydom" (1874), as well as writing several farces, operetta libretti, extravaganzas, fairy comedies, adaptations from novels, translations from the French, and the dramas described above. Also in 1874, he published his last contribution for "Fun" magazine (""Rosencrantz and Guildenstern""), after a gap of three years, then resigned due to disapproval of the new owner's other publishing interests.