John Gay's 1728 satirical ballad opera 'The Beggar's Opera' has seen many adaptations & portrayals over the centuries. Originally intended to take satirical aim at the upper classes' passionate obsession with Italian Opera and lampoon politicians, most notably Whig statesmen Robert Walpole, and notorious criminals in general, it also dealt with social inequity by mostly comparing low-class thieves and whores with their aristocratic and bourgeois 'betters'.
Kneehigh Theatre's adaptation gives the classic a gritty, high-octane modern makeover that holds up a satirical, fun-fair mirror to the world and society we're living in that gets us thinking about how different we are, or aren't, 291 years later.
This production is a stolen jet-ski joy-ride down the Thames; it's fast, it's risky, it's utterly thrilling! Dead Dog in a Suitcase (and Other Love Songs) is a Kneehigh production full of grit and danger that vastly contrasts last year's more dreamy and romantic Brief Encounter, proving this Cornish company really can do it all!
Les Peachum (Martin Hyder) and Mrs P (Rina Fatania, who gives a masterclass in comedy) are the matriarchs of an expansive crime empire who hire notorious criminal Macheath (Dominic Marsh) to assassinate 'the last good man' Mayor Goodman (and poor dog Toby) in order to rig the upcoming elections in their favour. This leaves behind a justice-hungry and truth-seeking Widow Goodman as played by Patrycja Kujawska, whose incredible actor-musician skills weave brilliantly through the narrative and closes the show in a breath-taking apocalyptic swan-song.
Marsh's Macheath is as much of a rockabilly Casanova as he is a hardened, underworld Hitman and has secretly married good girl and daughter of Mr and Mrs Peachum Polly (Angela Hardie, who's stunning phoenix-rising-from-the-pier moment screams riot grrrl power). He's also unknowingly the father of Lucy Lockit's (Beverly Rudd) unborn child, Lucy being the daughter of Police Officer Colin Lockit (Giles King) who's life mission is to catch him and bring him down, and in a brilliant scene in the second half we discover he's also fathered half a dozen fallen-cherub-like babies in the local Strip Club, as they serenade him with their hilarious potty-mouthed 'We hate you daddy' ditty.
Filch (Georgia Frost) is the downtrodden pet of the Peachums, scurrying to and fro between the various criminals he has to keep happy, fetching bananas for Mr Peachum's expensive banana daiquiri habit and trying to be Polly's knight in shining armour and it's the gorgeous, bluesy lament 'I'd do the right thing, if I only could', which juggles brilliant slapstick tricks whilst maintaining a truly gorgeous vocal without missing a beat, that makes this performance a real standout. I last saw Georgia in Old Vic's 'A Monster Calls' and knew she was one to look out for; Her nuanced yet comedic, heartbreaking and hysterical performance as Filch absolutely confirms she's a rising star.
This show is 'Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels' meets 'Eastenders'. It weaves multiple character narratives with many 'who dunnits' and 'no, who really dunnits', a slick and nerve-wracking 'cup and ball'-esque sequence with suitcases, cats out of bags (or should that be dogs out of suitcases) and truth bombs, a real spectacle for the audience to try to figure out whose side to be on, if any at all?
Michael Vale's design really plants us firmly in the greasy, steely underworld Carl Grose and Mike Shepherd have set this adaptation in. A huge scaffolding set that the cast athletically use as a climbing-frame (there's even a slide!) takes us from factories, to flats, to the docks and, with the addition of the trademark Kneehigh neon lights, a strip club. Sarah Wright's brilliant Punch-and-no-Judy puppetry is the squeaky but sinister narrator signalling twists and turns and the hand of fate for Macheath's eventual demise (a darker twist on Gay's original ending). The contrast of the Great-British-seaside style of the puppetry, the eclectic original musical numbers that take us through the decades and regions of our country's music taste and the dark, industrial set design ties everything together to suggest Kneehigh's Dead Dog in a Suitcase's (and perhaps even our) Britain is one big, messy carnival.
Star rating: *****
Cost of ticket: £10 (previews price)
Venue: Lyric Hammersmith, Hammersmith
Accessibility: Lift access to auditorium (which is on 2nd floor), full wheelchair access on each level, gender-neutral toilets. Lyric Hammersmith offers Audio Described and Open Captioned performances for all of their main house shows, and BSL and relaxed performances for some.
Comfortability: Traditional swing seat theatre, allocated seating. I was sat in Row C (2nd from front) and personally found the strain on my neck due to an old injury was a bit much due to the elevated stage. Chairs a little on the snug side, so on a warm evening like mine you get a bit clammy if too close to your seat neighbour.