The Beggar's Opera

A New Musical Play

John Gay

8th November - 3rd December 2016

The Jack Studio Theatre

"The Beggar's Opera is suitable for audience members of the age of 12 and upwards, contains strong language and scenes of very naughty behaviour."

Bawdy, Bonkers and Bizarre…


Polly Peachum longs for her newly-married husband, the roguish highwayman, Macheath. Their whirlwind romance is derailed by her parents, his lover, the law and the noose.


John Gay’s 1728 musical comedy is set deep within London’s underworld, a frantic, dangerous and lascivious world of highwaymen, hangmen and harlots. This uncompromising exposure of moral and financial corruption comes to the stage with an original score and contemporary staging.


The Beggar’s Opera marks our return to The Jack Studio after our sell-out production of The Caucasian Chalk Circle.

★★★★★ “Pushed the boundaries of the audience’s imagination 

– it swept me off my feet”

Ginger Wig & Strolling Man

Cast and Creative

Cast;

Polly Peachum – Michaela Bennison

Lucy Lockit – Elizabeth Hollingshead

Mr. Peachum – David Jay Douglas

Mrs Peachum – Natalie Barker

Lockit – Josie Mills

Macheath – Sherwood Alexander

Filch – Louis Rayneau

Matt of the Mint – Alasdair Melrose

Jenny – Rachel Kelly

Mrs Trapes – Shalana Serafina


Creative;

Written by John Gay

Adapted and Directed by Ricky Dukes

New Lyrics and Music by Bobby Locke

New Music and Sound Design by Chris Drohan

Design by Sorcha Corcoran

Lighting Design by Stuart Glover

Musical Direction by Dominic Gee-Burch

Dramaturge – Sara Reimers

Stage Manager – Sinéad Sexton

Associate Producer – Gavin Harrington-Odedra

Company Photographer – Adam Trigg

Production Graphic Designer – Will Beeston

For further information on The Beggar's Opera cast click here

60 Seconds with...

Get to know our Beggar's Opera cast a little better with the 60 second challenge... 

Lazarus Future

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Production shots...

★★★★ “This funny, lively adaptation has an excellent, fresh, new score and contemporary staging… The play received a rousing ovation from a very pleased audience at the end. Go and see this, you could not possibly be disappointed”

Graham Archer, West End Wilma

The Beggar's Opera on SoundCloud

The Beggar's Opera on SoundCloud: The Company of The Beggar's Opera, A New Musical Play sing three tracks from our new musical production. To listen click here.  

The Beggar's Opera
Post Show Q&A

Chaired by Terri Paddock with a panel including actor-producer Michael Peavoy, who produced The Buskers Opera, and Lazarus Theatre dramaturg Sara Reimers and Lazarus Artistic Director Ricky Dukes.

Listen here

★★★★ “Who doesn’t love a bad boy? A brisk, high energy, musical The Beggar’s Opera is thoroughly entertaining and striking”

Sarah Cox, Stage Review

The Beggar's Opera, a brief history...

Box Office 

The Beggar's Opera, a ballad opera produced on the 29 January 1728 by John Rich, in which Sir Robert Walpole was caricatured. This famous piece, which was said to have made "Rich gay and Gay rich", was an innovation in many respects. 

The play ran for sixty-two nights. The Beggar's Opera has had an influence on all later British stage comedies, especially on nineteenth century British comic opera and the modern musical.

Dates 8th November – 3rd December,Tue – Sat at 7.45pm

Venue The Jack Studio Theatre

Tickets £15.00, £12.00 (Concessions) £10 (Previews)

To Book www.brockleyjack.co.uk

PRESS AND OPENING NIGHT 10th August 2016

Closes Saturday 3rd December 

★★★★ “There is plenty in this lively new version to delight and surprise both those returning to an old favourite and those who are seeing it for the first time”

Paul Ackroyd, RemoteGoat

Beggar's Opera in the press...

Proudly supported by and in association with... 

★★★★★ Ginger Wig & Strolling Man

★★★★ Graham Archer, West End Wilma

★★★★ Sarah Cox, Stage Review

★★★★ Paul Ackroyd, RemoteGoat

★★★★ Siân Rowland, London Pub Theatre

★★★★ William Russell, Reviews Gate

My Theatre Mates on Beggar's Q&A

The Beggar's Opera is in Theatre.London top pics

Southwark News loves our Beggars Opera

London News Online delves into The Beggar's Opera

Terri Padock chairs The Beggar's Opera post show Q&A

My Theatre Mates announce Beggar's Opera

We make our Stage Faves debut with Beggar's Opera!

Our pals at Stage Faves announce Beggar's Opera

BroadwayWorld.com announce The Beggar's cast 

LondonTheatre1 shares news of our company

★★★★ “The company songs are superb and the energy of the piece brings every corner of the Jack’s studio space to throbbing, pulsating life… The imaginative movement and staging... the show is dynamic and fun”

Siân Rowland, London Pub Theatre