✕ ✕
Turning tips into memories
Login
Signup

You have reached the limit of free articles.


To enjoy unlimited access to Culture Whisper sign up for FREE.
Find out more about Culture Whisper

Please fix the following input errors:

  • dummy

Each week, we send newsletters and communication featuring articles, our latest tickets invitations, and exclusive offers.

Occasional information about discounts, special offers and promotions.


OR
LOG IN

OR
  • LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK

Thanks for signing up to Culture Whisper.
Please check your inbox for a confirmation email and click the link to verify your account.



EXPLORE CULTURE WHISPER
✕ ✕
Turning tips into memories
Login
Signup

Please fix the following input errors:

  • dummy
Forgot your username or password?
Don't have an account? Sign Up

OR
  • LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK

If you click «Log in with Facebook» and are not a Culture Whisper user, you agree to our Terms & Conditions and to our Privacy Policy, which includes our Cookie Use

Support Us Login
  • Home
  • Going Out
    • Things to do
    • Food & Drink
    • Theatre
    • Visual Arts
    • Cinema
    • Kids
    • Festival
    • Gigs
    • Dance
    • Classical Music
    • Opera
    • Immersive
    • Talks
  • Staying In
    • TV
    • Books
    • Cook
    • Podcast
    • Design
    • Netflix
  • Life & Style
    • Beauty
    • Fashion
    • Gifting
    • Wellbeing
    • Lifestyle
    • Shopping
    • Jewellery
  • Explore
  • Shopping
  • CW SHOPS
  • Support Us
  • Get Started
  • Tickets
  • CW SHOPS
Get the Best of London Life, Culture and Style
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
Theatre

The Threepenny Opera review ★★★★★

18 May 16 – 01 Oct 16, 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM

Rory Kinnear makes for a cool callous Mack in Simon Stephens' translation of The Threepenny Opera, directed by Rufus Norris,

By Lucy Brooks on 26/5/2016

3 CW readers are interested
Review: Threepenny Opera, National, photo by Alistair Muir
Review: Threepenny Opera, National, photo by Alistair Muir
The Threepenny Opera review 4 The Threepenny Opera review Lucy Brooks
Rufus Norris teams up with Simon Stephens, writer of Olivier and Tony award-winning The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, to bring The Threepenny Opera back to the National. Thirteen years since the last production of Bertolt Brecht’s and Kurt Weill’s amoral satire, Mack the Knife reappears as sharp and cutting Olivier-winner Rory Kinnear (singing for the first time in his career) in a brash, feisty, and bold adaptation which respects and ridicules its origins.


Brecht is known by many for his theory, and Norris tackles it head-on with shameless signage, actors shouting ‘scene change’ and ‘interval’, and a literal and recurring reference to ‘tearing up’ the theatre. Even Vicki Mortimer’s hodgepodge, wire-showing set slices into the theatricality of the event. But do not fear: the ultimate aim here is entertainment, and the blistering cleverness seldom overshadows Stephen’s comic and blunt (if not occasionally formulaic) script, and Weill’s iconic score.



In this fable of sex, crime, and immorality, Kinnear struts a cool and callous Macheath even when, after marrying Rosalie Craig’s demure-yet-devilish Polly Peachum, the wrath of her parents brings about his almost downfall. And, having admitted trepidation about belting out the songs live on stage, Kinnear shows that there's a musical theatre career in him yet. Sharon Small’s Jenny Diver, Macheath’s old love from the Wapping brothel, offers up real tragic moments, while both Debbie Krup as Lucy and Craig simmer confidently in the Jealousy Duet. The music is executed effortlessly by the mobile band, although this at times results in lyrics being lost.


Yet it’s the patchwork of Weimar pastiche, the endlessly stylized and constantly referential visuals that are the highlight. Haydn Gwynne’s Celia Peachum is the spitting image of Otto Dix’s Anita Berber portrait, while Mr Peachum (Nick Holder) is decked in double-breasted suit, Louise Brooks bob, and Dietrich eyebrows. They are the stand-outs, oozing character from every limb. Cabaret corsets, a hanging half-moon, knee-high red leather boots, and Valkyrie-inspired helmets all enrich the embellished texture and draw inspiration from the source text, John Day’s also satirical The Beggar’s Opera.


Raucous, irreverent, and brutal, this epic brings the Victorian East End to the present-day Southbank. Along with more than a few Weimar allusions, it seamlessly alludes to the long history of the play’s origins while ominously noting its continuing significance in today’s political climate.





What The Threepenny Opera review
Where National Theatre, South Bank, London, SE1 9PX | MAP
Nearest tube Waterloo (underground)
When 18 May 16 – 01 Oct 16, 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM
Price £5 - £50
Website Click here for more information



Most popular

Queen’s Jubilee 2022: where to celebrate
Queen’s Jubilee 2022: where to celebrate
Things to do in London this weekend: 27 - 29 May
Things to do in London this weekend: 27 - 29 May
Bel Powley and Emma Appleton in Dolly Alderton's Everything I Know About Love, BBC One (Photo: BBC)
Everything I Know About Love, BBC One: everything we know

Editor's Picks


  • 1. SHAKESPEARE'S SHAKE UP

    Globe summer season 2016

    2. BLOCKBUSTERS, BIG NAMES AND HOT TICKETS

    Everything you need to know about the National Theatre new season

    3. STAGE HIGHLIGHTS

    The very best shows on the London stage right now

    4. LONDON LIVING

    Make the most out of your city with our guide to the best events in London this week

What members say

    A very enjoyable evening. The poetry got lost a bit in translation and the reference on the rise of nationalism was a bit too obvious. But the late 20's Read more

    Eleonore Dresch

Sign up to CW’s newsletter
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).

We recommend nearby

  • Green Room

    A great place to eat or relax, the Nation Theatre's Green Room is enclosed in a sustainable garden, which acts as an urban oasis amid the hustle and bustle of the Southbank. The Green Room is open from noon until midnight from Monday-Saturday, and until 10pm on Sundays.

    Read more...

    Culture Whisper is your ultimate guide to the newest, most exciting cafés, bars and restaurants in London and we are sure you will love Green Room!

    Book Map
3

National Theatre 2016 Season

Revival

NT2016

You might like

  • Jaygann Ayeh as Avery and Louisa Krause as Rose, The Flick: photo by Mark Douet

    The Flick, National Theatre review ★★★★★

  • Dawn Sievewright (Fionnula), Caroline Deyga (Chell), Karen Fishwick (Kay) Isis Hainsworth (Orla), Frances Mayli McCann (Kylah) and Kirsty MacLaren (Manda). Photo: Manuel Harlan

    Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour review ★★★★★

  • Review: The Deep Blue Sea, National Theatre revival. Photo by Hubert Smith

    The Deep Blue Sea, National Theatre review ★★★★★

  • Brian Friel, Faith Healer, Donmar Warehouse revival 2016

    Faith Healer, Donmar Warehouse



  • The Culture Whisper team
  • Support Us
  • Tickets
  • Contact us
  • Press
  • FAQ
  • Privacy
  • Terms and conditions
  • Cookies
  • Discover
  • Venues
  • Restaurants
  • Stations
  • Boroughs
Sign up to CW’s newsletter
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
×