Description
Chronology Contexts – Historical, social and cultural – Political and social climate of the 1920s – Cultural context: the Roaring ’20s – Significance of the play for Brecht and for political theatre – 18th century context – 20th century context – Britain vs. Germany; London/East London Genres – Opera/music/theatre – a new theatrical genre – Adaptation – John Gay, The Beggar’s Opera – Hybridity: low- and highbrow, emphasis on fun, entertainment in Brechtian theatre – Satire Themes – Who is who? Bourgeois and/or beggar? – Role of the institutions (police, royal family, state) – Corruption, money – Exploitation, human trade, poverty – Morality, asocial vs. social – Love and sexuality, prostitution – Resistance and change – Which opportunities for change are envisioned by the play? Characters Male characters – Peachum empire – Macheath – Tigerbrown Female characters and sexual politics of the play – Mrs Peachum – Polly – Jenny Play as performance – Brechtian principles of theatre-making > emphasis on dialectical theatre > theatricality > actor-audience relationship > deus-ex-machina ending – Music > Kurt Weill’s composition > Brechtian opera > The significance of the songs Academic debate – Central strands in scholarship (comparative readings, focus on music and operatic genre) Production history – German productions (Berliner Ensemble; new production announced for January 2021) – English productions – International success (and problems which ensued: misinterpretation, commercialisation, etc.) – Der Dreigroschenprozess (The Threepenny Trial by Bertolt Brecht) – Simon Stephens’s recent new version at the National Theatre, UK – Joachim Lang’s film Mackie Messer – Brechts Dreigroschenfilm Behind the scenes Interview with playwright Simon Stephens Further reading and viewing THE THREEPENNY OPERA Additional texts Notes
