REVIEW – THE THREEPENNY OPERA
by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill

Performed by Lancaster Girls’ Grammar School and Lancaster Royal Grammar School
The Grand Theatre, St Leonardgate, Lancaster
Wednesday 1 to Saturday 4 February 2006

An enthusiastic effort

The plays of the radical German poet and dramatist Bertolt Brecht are not performed as often as they deserve, so it was good to see the City’s two grammar schools tacking this piece. The social and political drama of Brecht’s adaptation of the eighteenth century Beggar’s Opera is complemented by Kurt Weill’s poignant and evocative music.

Brecht had his own very strong ideas about poetry, acting, theatre in general, and music theatre in particular. These are all well known in artistic circles and well documented too. So I was more than disappointed that this production had been conceived, designed and executed as if it were a musical.

The class politics, social satire and sheer brutality of the text were here sanitised out of all recognition. It was as if an opera by the equally political and forthright Wagner had been set by Lloyd Webber and staged by Walt Disney. As the title clearly states, this is an opera.

Now I’ve got that off my chest, what about the actual performance? The very able students rose to the challenges of Brecht’s words (here in a reasonably authentic version by Marc Blitzstein) and Kurt Weill’s often difficult vocal lines. The band of a dozen or so players was about half students, played well and was confidently and firmly directed by Jeremy Truslove.

There were some creditable performances from the principles of the cast, particularly Hannah Gregson (Mrs Peachum) and Joel Phillimore (Macheath – Mac the Knife). The minor roles too demonstrated some sound technique, clear individual ability and a sure grasp of working in ensemble, despite some occasional weak diction.

Lighting and sound, though not the inconsistent costumes, complemented the production. The school’s production of their own version of North and South last year was a great evening. So despite my serious reservations about the design and production concepts, I am only too pleased to commend the efforts and obvious abilities and enthusiasm of the students from both schools who took part.

Copyright © 5 February 2006 Michael Nunn