EIF 2023 The Threepenny Opera Festival Theatre 19th August Review
The Threepenny Opera (Die Dreigroschenoper) is at the Festival Theatre Edinburgh (Sat 19 and Sun 20 August), and for many people will no doubt be one of the highlights of this year’s Edinburgh International Festival. This is the UK premiere of this production by The Berliner Ensemble (founded by Brecht himself), directed by Barrie Kosky, which has already won critical acclaim for its take on Brecht’s biting satire on capitalist society.
Written by Bertolt Brecht and Elizabeth Hauptmann and with music by Kurt Weill, this comic-opera based on John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera, simply re-defined the genre when it was first premiered in 1928, and nearly 100 years later those ripples of imagination and creativity are still being felt in music and theatre across the world.
Set in an England of the soon to be crowned Queen Victoria (1838) Brecht takes us into the world of organised begging gangs, thieves, cut-throats, pimps and prostitutes and introduces us to one of the worst of them all Macheath (Mackie Messer/Mack the Knife).
From the moment this production opens with the iconic song ‘Die Moritat von Mackie Messer’, the song that was to become an iconic jazz standard across the world and better known to many people now as ‘Mack the Knife’, it was obvious that this cast were exceptional. With a fairly small ensemble of musicians playing live, outside it might have been 2023, but inside this was a club or theatre somewhere in Berlin during The Weimar Republic years and the birthplace of all of what we now consider to be classic German cabaret.
Sometimes though I wonder why Brecht did not translate this story line to a more contemporary setting in Berlin. Perhaps, even then, it was easier this way and avoided direct confrontation with a political party that was already starting to exert its power over many aspects of daily life in Germany. Still there are many sharp lines of dialogue here which anyone who listened closely enough to could certainly associate with people in positions of power.
This story at its heart is also one of parents disapproving of their daughter’s choice in life of who she is getting married to and being prepared to do whatever it takes to keep them apart, and all cast members of the Peachum family, Jonathan Jeremiah (Tilo Nest), Celia(Pauline Knof) and their daughter Polly (Cynthia Micas) capture the essence of their characters so well. Polly also introduces us to one of the great songs of this work “Pirate Jenny”. Tilo Nest (as Jonathan Jeremiah) captured this audience with his performance skills just as easily as his character manipulated everyone else in this story line and was the perfect counterbalance to Mack the Knife and his accomplices.
There is of course no Threepenny Opera without “Mack The Knife”, and you could be forgiven for thinking that this role was written especially for Gabriel Schneider as his connection with this audience was such a powerful one. For the most part, Mack is written sympathetically, and we have to feel some empathy to him for the biting satire of his words and songs to have their full effect, but there are scenes here where his “Mack the lad about town” mask slips and he is revealed for exactly what he is, a violent criminal who will have no problems cutting your throat if you happen to get in his way for any reason.
Giving this show so much of its comedy was Kathrin Wehlisch in the role of Jackie "Tiger" Brown, Police Chief of London and Mack's best friend from their army days, and although done with gentle humour this character’s level of corruption had so much to say about some figures in authority.
My only issue with this production is that I am not a fan of the stage set which is essentially tall towers with ladders and platforms that move backwards and forwards (originally all in one line when they open). Their starkness does allow for a very focused line of sight when performers are on stage but it does seem a pity not to have done more with the very large performance space that the Festival Theatre offers, and with a small number of people in the cast for this show, this empty space was often highlighted.
It would be interesting to see this production in a smaller theatre space too as often the very personal interaction between stage, musicians, and audience lost a bit of its intimacy for me. Having said that though, during its earlier life as The Empire Theatre, every major music hall performer of their day has taken to this stage, so obviously the building is perfect for musical theatre/cabaret.
Review by Tom King © 2023
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
Written by Bertolt Brecht and Elizabeth Hauptmann and with music by Kurt Weill, this comic-opera based on John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera, simply re-defined the genre when it was first premiered in 1928, and nearly 100 years later those ripples of imagination and creativity are still being felt in music and theatre across the world.
Set in an England of the soon to be crowned Queen Victoria (1838) Brecht takes us into the world of organised begging gangs, thieves, cut-throats, pimps and prostitutes and introduces us to one of the worst of them all Macheath (Mackie Messer/Mack the Knife).
From the moment this production opens with the iconic song ‘Die Moritat von Mackie Messer’, the song that was to become an iconic jazz standard across the world and better known to many people now as ‘Mack the Knife’, it was obvious that this cast were exceptional. With a fairly small ensemble of musicians playing live, outside it might have been 2023, but inside this was a club or theatre somewhere in Berlin during The Weimar Republic years and the birthplace of all of what we now consider to be classic German cabaret.
Sometimes though I wonder why Brecht did not translate this story line to a more contemporary setting in Berlin. Perhaps, even then, it was easier this way and avoided direct confrontation with a political party that was already starting to exert its power over many aspects of daily life in Germany. Still there are many sharp lines of dialogue here which anyone who listened closely enough to could certainly associate with people in positions of power.
This story at its heart is also one of parents disapproving of their daughter’s choice in life of who she is getting married to and being prepared to do whatever it takes to keep them apart, and all cast members of the Peachum family, Jonathan Jeremiah (Tilo Nest), Celia(Pauline Knof) and their daughter Polly (Cynthia Micas) capture the essence of their characters so well. Polly also introduces us to one of the great songs of this work “Pirate Jenny”. Tilo Nest (as Jonathan Jeremiah) captured this audience with his performance skills just as easily as his character manipulated everyone else in this story line and was the perfect counterbalance to Mack the Knife and his accomplices.
There is of course no Threepenny Opera without “Mack The Knife”, and you could be forgiven for thinking that this role was written especially for Gabriel Schneider as his connection with this audience was such a powerful one. For the most part, Mack is written sympathetically, and we have to feel some empathy to him for the biting satire of his words and songs to have their full effect, but there are scenes here where his “Mack the lad about town” mask slips and he is revealed for exactly what he is, a violent criminal who will have no problems cutting your throat if you happen to get in his way for any reason.
Giving this show so much of its comedy was Kathrin Wehlisch in the role of Jackie "Tiger" Brown, Police Chief of London and Mack's best friend from their army days, and although done with gentle humour this character’s level of corruption had so much to say about some figures in authority.
My only issue with this production is that I am not a fan of the stage set which is essentially tall towers with ladders and platforms that move backwards and forwards (originally all in one line when they open). Their starkness does allow for a very focused line of sight when performers are on stage but it does seem a pity not to have done more with the very large performance space that the Festival Theatre offers, and with a small number of people in the cast for this show, this empty space was often highlighted.
It would be interesting to see this production in a smaller theatre space too as often the very personal interaction between stage, musicians, and audience lost a bit of its intimacy for me. Having said that though, during its earlier life as The Empire Theatre, every major music hall performer of their day has taken to this stage, so obviously the building is perfect for musical theatre/cabaret.
Review by Tom King © 2023
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com