 Stephens soon wrote lyrics for F. C. Burnand's burlesque of "Rob Roy", "Robbing Roy", at the Gaiety Theatre and collaborated with Burnand on a couple of other burlesques, "Balloonacy, a New and Original Musical Extravaganza", with music by Edward Solomon, and "The Corsican Brothers and Co, Limited".After Gilbert and Sullivan's "H.M.S.Pinafore" became a hit, Stephens was inspired to collaborate with Solomon on a comic opera, "Billee Taylor" (1880), which played in London at the same time as "The Pirates of Penzance".