The Threepenny Opera

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