Oxford Playhouse

---

Lita Doolan October 26, 2006

Mackie's back in town, with this gritty Opera for beggars performed to an extremely high standard throughout by student group, Musicals of Oxford. Director Lotte Wakeham directs a 21 strong ensemble that delivers sharp as a blade, Brecht's portrayal of capitalistic greed. Originally inspired by the 'smash and grab' culture of Germany between the two world wars, the translated lyrics set the piece in London and have been twisted to include some humorous modern references; Wayne and Coleen get a notable mention.

This production cuts to the core of this masterpiece of musical theatre. Celebrated songs such as 'Pirate Jenny' (once performed by Lotte Lenya) are given bold, stirring choreography by Tim Jackson. Costumes, designed by Helen Nightingale, are minimalistic black with the use of some choice coloured garments being added to bring out significant characters. The costumes harmonize with the bare scaffolding set, designed by Richard Malins, so all is in keeping with Brecht's preference for the practical nature of theatre. The on stage orchestra, musically directed by a costumed David Allen, does great justice to Kurt Weill's darkly atmospheric score. Highly skilled dancers dazzle all the way through, notably in the 'Squaddies Song' which would surely have any soldier leaving their watch for a glimpse of those bikinis with the St George cross!

Macheath (aka Mack the Knife) is played by Owen Findlay who leads the action brilliantly. Mackie splits his life between his whores and his latest wife Polly, daughter of the leader of the beggars Mr J J Peachum. A firm grip is kept by Mackie on his gangsters as the audience is reminded, 'Fancy gloves though wears Macheath dear, So there’s not a trace of red'. It looks likely the charismatic criminal will swing for his jacknife action, but this is Brecht's opera so anything is possible! As the clocks go back, embrace the darkness but watch those shadows, because they haven't caught him yet…

---

Simon Tavener October 25, 2006

Brecht and Weill created a masterpiece in 1928 with Die Dreigroschenoper - a piece full of wit, anger and innovation. Taking The Beggar's Opera as a starting point, it marked the start of a collaboration which was to have a lasting influence on theatre. Certainly we would not have smash-hit musicals such as Cabaret and Chicago without The Threepenny Opera.

Musicals of Oxford have established a good reputation in recent years for their productions and I was hoping for something that matched the original in terms of creativity and quality. I am sorry to say that I left the theatre somewhat disappointed. Part of this might be down to the translations selected for this version - the fact that the lyrics and dialogue were penned by different authors meant that the two seemed more disjointed than Brecht and Weill intended.

Clearly there is a lot of visual invention in the production - the use of umbrellas as a linking motif is clever and works well. The costumes are well thought through and executed to a good standard. The lighting is striking - thanks to the experience of Will Reynolds.

The performances, however, are the weak link in the production. Too often the singing voices failed to deliver the necessary rawness of the text and reverted to RP rather than remaining in the accents employed for the dialogue. The use of microphones was somewhat haphazard - with apparently little attention to detail in terms of volume and timing - which did leave some moments inaudible and others too loud to bear.

Matthew Jones stands out as Mr Peachum - he is clearly a creature of the theatre. Equally at home in dance, dialogue and song, he offers a rounded characterisation and fully understands what is needed for a piece as complex as this. Weill is a difficult composer to sing (I speak as someone who was involved in the first European performances of one of his US works) and requires the right balance of voice and acting. While many of the cast have good voices, they lack the bite to really sell the songs. In this they are not always helped by the tempos set by the band.

There are some highlights, however. The Squaddies' Song has a huge amount of energy and bitterness which hits the audience straight between the eyes. Some of the smaller roles are very entertainingly brought to life - particularly Ben Hunt as Filch and Neil Ashdown as Jake. The dancing, whilst not always innovative, is performed with commitment and enormous flexibility. The band does have some of the necessary earthiness and plays with an understanding of Weillian style.

The Threepenny Opera remains an important piece of 20th Century music theatre and for that reason - alone - I would encourage others to attend and judge for themselves.

Share this event