Allan Corduner is an ensemble actor worth giving a leading part. His Sullivan in Topsy-Turvy stands as an equal to Jim Broadbent’s Gilbert, making a gifted man interesting without asking us to find him easy company.
Fi1m perspective
In Topsy-Turvy (1999), Allan Corduner’s Sir Arthur Sullivan does not leave Jim Broadbent’s W. S. Gilbert to set the terms. Their exchanges feel like a negotiation between people who each have something the other needs. Broadbent gives Gilbert an exacting seriousness about the work, and Corduner gives Sullivan enough presence to prevent him becoming merely the man who answers. This is assured ensemble acting, with neither performer obliged to stand aside for the other. Mike Leigh lets both men be difficult without asking us to forgive everything on account of their gifts.
Sullivan was Corduner’s first leading film role, after work in repertory and West End theatre. He has since combined supporting film parts with stage work, television and audiobook narration. The Grey Zone (2001), Defiance (2008) and TÁR (2022) belong to that later film career, with Topsy-Turvy still the substantial leading part on which our enthusiasm rests. His frequent casting as authority figures and professionals makes sense, but Sullivan suggests how much more interesting that authority becomes when somebody is prepared to question it.
Corduner is an accomplished pianist, and in Topsy-Turvy he plays the piano in character. That matters in a film concerned with the practical business of making music and theatre. Sullivan has work of his own to do; Corduner does not play him simply as relief from Gilbert’s perfectionism. Leigh’s detailed preparation suits an actor who can sustain that independence within a partnership. We were unexpectedly moved by the two men together, because Corduner and Broadbent make collaboration look demanding without making it seem pointless.
The qualification is that the film’s historical detail occasionally slows the drama. Corduner and Broadbent keep the people worth watching, but their performances cannot make every detour necessary. We would not use one substantial leading role to make sweeping claims for everything Corduner has done; it is enough to make us want another part that gives him comparable space. Start with Topsy-Turvy, especially if you enjoy watching capable people disagree about how a job should be done.
Biography
Allan Corduner is a British actor born on 2 April 1950 in Stockholm, Sweden. He grew up in a secular Jewish home in London. He earned a BA (Hons) in English and Drama at Bristol University and trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.
Corduner has worked extensively in theatre, television and film in the UK and the United States. He is known for his portrayal of Sir Arthur Sullivan in Mike Leigh's Topsy-Turvy (1999). Other film roles include appearances in Yentl (1983), Mr. Nobody (2009), Florence Foster Jenkins (2016), Woman in Gold (2015), Disobedience (2018) and TÁR (2022). He has also appeared in television series such as Homeland and The Blacklist. He is married to Juha Sorola.
