It's
a tale of debauchery and corruption set around Newgate prison, where cash and self-gratification is everything. Women are not to be trusted and are treated as playthings, and men are thieves, especially those in positions of power where bribery really does mean the difference between life and death. Parents call their daughters sluts and hussies and men count the notches on their bedposts. Highwaymen mix with prostitutes and all know the lawyers and jailers. Such is life in London in the 1720s. And this production brought it all to life.It a
lso came to life in the forms of Jasper Britton, Phil Daniels and Beverley Rudd. Jasper and Phil are the fathers of the two young women who both have the hots for the highwayman Macheath and they both treat their daughters abominably, threatening them and calling them sluts. I'm not sure whether this was meant to be a reflection of the times or meant to make them look even worse than they do, but I suspect a parenting class would be helpful. Beverley was in excellent voice, humour and physicality and made me remember her in 'Into The Woods' last summer in the same theatre in which she played Little Red Riding Hood. She makes a good poisoner in this play, as well as bouncing round the prison cell fighting with her rival, the limp drip Polly (played by Flora Spencer-Longhurst).
I liked the set with two gallows prominently displayed (and they're used at the end to my shock) but the park setting didn't really help to generate the urban landscape of Newgate. It was a nice, open stage, but something a bit grittier might have been better. The costumes were spot on and the few props made it look authentic.It is venal and it's cruel. It's dark and it's funny. It's archetypal 18th Century London. I'm pleased I didn't live then, but it's fun to see.
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