Sorry, The Threepenny Opera closed on 01 Oct 2016

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About the show

Rory Kinnear stars as Macheath in a staggering new adaptation of one of Bertolt Brecht’s most well-known pieces of work, The Threepenny Opera. With a new translation by Simon Stephens bringing out the best of the darkly comic satire, this is not a production to be missed.

A dark and desolate Victorian London provides the backdrop for The Threepenny Opera, as the city prepares for a coronation, the criminal underworld goes on undisturbed. When Mr and Mrs Peachum discover that their bookish daughter has wed the notorious gang member Macheath, also known as Mack The Knife, they become determined to break the two apart by any means necessary. Even with the death of Mack.

Written by Bertolt Brecht and with music by Kurt Weill, the original production first opened in Berlin in 1932, as a fierce socialist critique of the capitalist world. Despite the pair being forced to leave Germany shortly after due to the rise of the Nazis, The Threepenny Opera has gone on to be hugely successful worldwide, being performed over 10,000 times in Europe alone and spawning highly successful musical covers of the song Mack The Knife.

Many will know Rory Kinnear for his role in the recent James Bond films as Bill Tanner, who takes the lead part of Mack The Knife in his first major singing role. Kinnear is a long established star of the London stages, having previously won the Olivier for Best Actor for his role as Iago in the 2014 National Theatre production of Othello. He is joined by Rosalie Craig, who was recently nominated for an Olivier Award and won the Evening Standard Award for Best Musical Performance for her role in The Light Princess.

With its innovative new translation, dark comedy and brilliant staging, Rufus Norris’ new adaptation of the Brecht classic is certainly not one to miss. The Threepenny Opera opened at the Olivier Theatre at the National Theatre in May 2016 and is set to run until 1st October 2016.