The Deadbeat Opera

“There are some who are in darkness / And the others are in light / And you see the ones in brightness / Those in darkness drop from sight.” - Mack the Knife

Ladies and gentlemen, we’re rolling up to the Pump House with another miserable tale! 

Following on from the success of Woyzeck we present to you a low-life, low-budget opera performed by a highly talented cast of losers and deadbeats. 

The Deadbeat Opera is Free Theatre’s adaptation of John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera (1728) a revolutionary and then immensely popular ‘anti-opera’ and forerunner to the modern-day musical where criminal gang leaders and prostitutes sung well known songs (by Johann Pepusch) and folk ballads about corruption, poverty and injustice; and Bertolt Brecht’s The Threepenny Opera (1928) an adaptation 200 years later of Gay’s work with new music in the form of cabaret songs composed by Kurt Weill. 

In Brecht’s adaptation he reverses the moral positions of the bankers and police with that of the beggars and thieves: “Who is the greater criminal: he who robs a bank or he who founds one?” He also wanted to show that high moral standards are only possible when one can afford them: “Food is the first thing, morals follow on”. 

The Deadbeat Opera juxtaposes our current period of the 2020s with the historical periods of Gay and Brecht – the early days of the industrial revolution during the 1720s and the Great Depression during the 1920s. 

Hester Ullyart performs the role of gang leader Macheath and is joined by a mix of experienced local performers - Aaron Boyce, Heather McFarlane, Sarah Clare Judd, Greta Bond, Chris Carrow and Marian McCurdy; and our gang of musicians - Reuben Derrick, Sam White, Chris Reddington and Doug Brush.

Directed by Peter Falkenberg with design by Stuart Lloyd-Harris, the heritage Pump House once again provides the perfect setting. Enjoy a beverage before the show and during the interval at our ‘Beggars and Bankers Pumphouse Bar’ where you’re guaranteed to get what you paid for.

We are performing The Deadbeat Opera in honour of our collaborator, sister and friend Samantha Boyce-Da Cruz who worked with us to develop the project last year. Sam passed away unexpectedly in February. She is very much with us in all of our thoughts and we dedicate this opera to her.