pastiche score (with some Offenbach added), arranged by Timothy Henty, was first used with Gilbert's libretto adapted by Anthony Baker, at the Normansfield Theatre in Teddington, Middlesex, England, the first professional British production since 1872. This was performed several times subsequently, including at the 2014 International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival. Also in 2008, an original score by Thomas Z. Shepard was first performed in concert by the Blue Hill Troupe in New York City and was finally given a fully staged amateur production in 2014. Assessment More than the usual burlesque Thespis was an advance on the types of burlesques to which Gaiety audiences were accustomed. François Cellier recalled much later: Several critics suggested that the piece may have been too sophisticated for its audience—or at least, the audience that greeted its first performance on Boxing Night. The Times wrote: "The dialogue throughout is superior in ability and point to that with which ordinary burlesque and extravaganza have familiarized us; so much so, in fact, that it was a daring experiment to produce such a piece on such a night. It met, however, with an excellent reception, and on any other occasion than Boxing Night the numerous merits of the piece cannot fail to secure for it in the public estimation a high place among the novelties of the season." Other reviews of the first night took up a similar theme: Sporting Life suggested that "It may be that they looked for something less polished than Mr. Gilbert's verse, and went for something broader and coarser than that delightful author's humour. It may be, too, that Thespis was a little—I only say, just a little—'over their heads'." The Orchestra carried a similar sentiment: "In fact, both music and idea were somewhat over the heads of the audience." Libretto The plot of Thespis, with its elderly gods tired of their life in Olympus, is similar to some of Offenbach's operas, notably Orphée aux Enfers (Orpheus in the Underworld). In Orphée, like Thespis, classical mythology, particularly the Olympian gods, are ruthlessly parodied. In Thespis, the gods swap places with actors and descend to Earth; in Orphée, the gods head to hell for a pleasant holiday away from boring perfection. Offenbach's plot – for although Crémieux and Halévy wrote the libretto, the idea was Offenbach's – places Orpheus, the great musician, in the centre; however, Gilbert's plot focuses on Thespis, the Father of