Principal photography began on 24 February 2017 and finished on 20 June 2017. On that latter, the interview with Ian Martin, the Managing Director of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company was scheduled, but the temperatures were so high that Ian stated that the office would be far too hot to film the interview there, and a café nearby served as shooting location.
The book with W.S. Gilbert's lyrics featured in the film is a genuine 1898 first edition of "The Bab Ballads with which are included Songs of a Savoyard". In the intro to the film, one can also briefly see a "Pirates of Penzance" programme from 1888, the operetta's first London re-run. Both had been purchased on eBay.
Michael Fleischer had the idea for this film when strolling around Woolwich (London). He thought to himself that it would be interesting to visit the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, have a look at their premises and to have a chat about their past and upcoming productions. It was out of this idea that the rough concept for the film was developed. Ironically, D'Oyly Carte's Managing Director, Ian Martin, was the last to be interviewed, and it was not at the company's premises, but at a café nearby.
To complete the editing as soon as possible, Michael Fleischer took two weeks off work. Sadly, his laptop could no longer handle the masses of HD footage, and another one had to be purchased (and then exchanged for another one with more storage space). Solving the ensuing technical issues took up most of that two-week period, which led to a significant delay in the film's release.
Simon Butteriss, one of the interviewees, actually was in Topsy-Turvy (1999), a biographical drama by Mike Leigh that tells the story of the creation of "The Mikado". Simon on the role: "(I play a) lemon-faced understudy of George Grossmith. It's easy to blink and miss me."