Sharp Teeth Theatre and Marie Hamilton present
Polly (The Heartbreak Opera) – a riotous and radical adaptation
of John Gay’s banned sequel to The Beggar’s Opera
Friday 12th April – Monday 27th May 2024
A collaboration between Marie Hamilton and Sharp Teeth Theatre, Polly (The Heartbreak Opera) brings a gritty and wild energy to John Gay’s scandalous follow up to The Beggar’s Opera, with original music inspired by Peaches, Britney and Nina Simone. This fierce adaptation renews Polly, Gay’s near forgotten gender-bending, anti-colonialist and proto-feminist ballad opera, originally written in 1729 but banned for the outrage it sparked.
Now in the 21st Century, Polly’s arguments about gender, colonialism and women’s rights rage on. Polly (The Heartbreak Opera) hilariously rips the text apart, re-writing Gay’s original satire to reflect the all too similar societal inequalities of the present day. Devised by the company and directed by Stephanie Kempson (Fringe First award winner, Breathless; director, The Good The Bad and The Coyote Ugly), this show brings new life to the 18th Century rom-com, with techno, tracksuits and palm trees.
In a tacky beach resort on a storm hit island we meet jilted brides, drag king politicians, a pregnant murderess, and a pirate boyband called Blazin’ Squid. Telling not just the story of Purest Polly Peachum but of the other wives of Mack the Knife as well, it is a joyous battle cry and unashamed expression of female rage, of love, loss, and revenge.
This viciously satirical, unashamedly sexy and very funny musical features 18 original songs. The score is brought together by Cameron Macintosh award-winner Ben Osborn, Madeline Shann and Ellie Showering (Breach Theatre).
Co-writer and performer Marie Hamilton comments, Our Polly is wild, riotous and empowering. It’s a dark and absolutely hilarious night out. We started making this show in Berlin 5 years ago, with a big tour that was unfortunately booked for March, April, May and June of 2020… well we all know what happened then! Post-pandemic, with the war-on-woke raging and domestic violence against women spiking the situation has only got graver. In the intervening time trying to get the play back up and running we’ve had company births, marriages, I have a one-year-old and I’ll be 7 months pregnant which will certainly add to the drama… Will there be a birth onstage… who knows!? Luckily one of my characters (Lucy Lockitt) is pregnant in the play so we’ll save some costume budget. Another character I play is Macheath: Mack the Knife- the father of Lucy’s child. Not sure this classic literary lothario has ever been played pregnant with his own child but we’ll put a snail trail up the bump and it will just make it even more punk. It’s been a long time coming, and we’re so ready to bring this brave and beautiful show back out, our joyous retaliation to all the right-wing rhetoric around: a dirty, angry, and most importantly, very funny call to arms.
Following a sold-out work-in-progress run, Polly (The Heartbreak Opera) is set to inspire and empower new audiences across the UK. The show was also finalists for both the LET and Untapped Awards.
Previous praise for Polly (The Heartbreak Opera):
Horror amid the hilarity: Marie Hamilton and Stephanie Kempson’s musical John Gay adaptation hits all the right notes… Overwhelming fun – Exeunt
A triumphant melding of satire, stagecraft, and more than a hint of the sinister… laugh- a-minute stuff of the highest order… Theatre needs ingenuity like this. – The Greenwich Visitor