The Beggar’s Opera (Tour – Coventry)

John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera was originally written in 1728. It poked fun at political and social issues happening at the time.

Vanishing Point have taken this classic and updated it for 2009; the central character (MacHeath) is transformed from a highwayman into a super thief while retaining the womanising characteristics of the original character.

The updated version was originally performed at the Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh and received mixed reviews.

Vanishing Point have tweaked the production and judging by last night’s performance with some success.

The audience are greeted by a fantastic set with a giant video screen and an area reminiscent of a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

The first 20 minutes of the production are slightly confusing however after that the plot flows well (if a little predictable), the production is visually stunning and the MacHeath character (competently portrayed by Sandy Grierson) delights the audience at times.

The music is provided by the Glasgow band “A Band Called Quinn” – their Grunge Style fits the production well, however at times the lyrics are unintelligible.

This production has the basis and potential to be great; however a few more tweaks are required to achieve this.

– Gareth Stringer