Theatre review:Dead Dog in a Suitcase (and other love songs)

Much of Sean Holmes' last season at the Lyric Hammersmith has been about revisiting notable moments from his time as Artistic Director, and for the finale (the upcoming Noises Off revival appears to be something of a filler show between regimes) he brings back Kneehigh, a company who've had a couple of residencies at the theatre during Holmes' time there. They're also, of course, a company I've tended not to get along with, but it's been a couple of years under new management so it's got to be worth a fresh look. And while Dead Dog in a Suitcase (and other love songs) has much of the trademark inventive chaos, it's probably safe to say that Emma Rice took her whimsy gun with her when she left. John Gay's The Beggar's Opera has been an endless source material for adaptation and reinterpretation over the centuries, and in Carl Grose (writer) and Charles Hazlewood's (music) hands it becomes an anarchist rock/ska Punch and Judy show.

Theatre review: The Buskers [sic] Opera

John Gay's 18th-century Beggar's Opera has been called a precursor to the modern musical as well as directly influencing various adaptations - most famously The Threepenny Opera. Brecht and Weill's version is about to get revived at the National, so whether that's good or bad timing for a new rewrite remains to be seen. Dougal Irvine's The Buskers OperaSHOULD THERE BE AN APOSTROPHE IN THERE SOMEWHERE OR ARE YOU TRYING TO USE "OPERA" AS A VERB?* references its predecessors in its opening number, in a self-referential style that will become typical of the rest of the evening: Macheath (George Maguire) is a former X Factor contestant kicked out at Boot Camp because of his temper, and now films himself singing anti-establishment songs and posts them on a fairly successful YouTube channel.