There are some who are in darkness / And the others are in light / And you see the ones in brightness / Those in darkness drop from sight.
- Mack the Knife
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6-21 September, 2024, The Pumphouse
Ladies and gentlemen, we’re rolling up to the Pump House with another miserable tale!
Following on from the success of Woyzeck we present to you a low-life, low-budget opera performed by a highly talented cast of losers and deadbeats. The Deadbeat Opera is Free Theatre’s adaptation of John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera (1728) a revolutionary and then immensely popular ‘anti-opera’ and forerunner to the modern-day musical where criminal gang leaders and prostitutes sung well known songs (by Johann Pepusch) and folk ballads about corruption, poverty and injustice; and Bertolt Brecht’s The Threepenny Opera (1928) an adaptation 200 years later of Gay’s work with new music in the form of cabaret songs composed by Kurt Weill. In Brecht’s adaptation he reverses the moral positions of the bankers and police with that of the beggars and thieves: “Who is the greater criminal: he who robs a bank or he who founds one?” He also wanted to show that high moral standards are only possible when one can afford them: “Food is the first thing, morals follow on”. |
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The Deadbeat Opera juxtaposes our current period of the 2020s with the historical periods of Gay and Brecht – the early days of the industrial revolution during the 1720s and the Great Depression during the 1920s.
Hester Ullyart performs the role of gang leader Macheath and is joined by a mix of experienced local performers - Aaron Boyce, Heather McFarlane, Sarah Clare Judd, Greta Bond, Chris Carrow and Marian McCurdy; and our gang of musicians - Reuben Derrick, Sam White, Chris Reddington and Doug Brush.
Directed by Peter Falkenberg with design by Stuart Lloyd-Harris, the heritage Pump House once again provides the perfect setting. Enjoy a beverage before the show and during the interval at our ‘Beggars and Bankers Pumphouse Bar’ where you’re guaranteed to get what you paid for.
We are performing The Deadbeat Opera in honour of our collaborator, sister and friend Samantha Boyce-Da Cruz who worked with us to develop the project last year. Sam passed away unexpectedly in February. She is very much with us in all of our thoughts and we dedicate this opera to her.
Directed by Peter Falkenberg with design by Stuart Lloyd-Harris, the heritage Pump House once again provides the perfect setting. Enjoy a beverage before the show and during the interval at our ‘Beggars and Bankers Pumphouse Bar’ where you’re guaranteed to get what you paid for.
We are performing The Deadbeat Opera in honour of our collaborator, sister and friend Samantha Boyce-Da Cruz who worked with us to develop the project last year. Sam passed away unexpectedly in February. She is very much with us in all of our thoughts and we dedicate this opera to her.
Great show! Amazing show! Loved everything about it This show is strange and epic ♥️ Please, please go see 'The Deadbeat Opera'. It was the most raw, beautiful, passionate, live theatre I've seen in a long time! The show was amazing . Really loved it. So creative and thought provoking and just really transports the mind and mood to a different place What a superb performance ! You guys all done well We enjoyed it immensely! 
i’m still on a high from last night! loooooooved it!!!! 🫶🫶🫶 
Great work @freetheatrechch. Loving the twisted musicals If you're looking for raucous chaos art, this is for you x 
A night at the theatre in a common pump house tonight. Free Theatre on form with its madly brilliant The Deadbeat Opera: a blending of John Gay's The Beggar's Opera and Bertold Brecht's The Threepenny Opera with modern additions. Hester Ullyart as MacHeath was notable for me, her character slick with nonchalant cruelty. But everyone on stage was notable especially with stage manager, musicians and crew all getting stage time. And that Stage - part of a more expansive set, and about 3m sq - part of the Stuart Lloyd-Harris/Chris Reddington set coĺlaboration... I marvelled at the exquisite choreography between scenes that regrouped furnishings in the limited space. All the actors have fabulous singing voices which served to heighten the mocking of mainstream opera. The top song for me had to be Sarah Clare Judd's 'Pirate Jenny,' an unfamiliar version of a Steeleye Span favourite, 'The Black Freighter.' And yes, since one of my all time adored buildings is the Kew pumping station by the Thames in London (with its 90 inch Cornish beam engine) I'd get married in a pump house! The whole thing was so well done by all. A really dramatic presentation! Congratulations! 
Loved the show last night - the costumes, the energy, the theatricality, and the amazing voices! Fantastic!! |
MediaInterview for Toi Ōtautahi with Zara Potts and Producer Marian McCurdy Read here: here
'A healing process' - new production honours drama teacher Victoria Meakin, The Press, 2 September 2024 Free the theatre! Hannah Harte, Avenues Magazine, Issue 232, Dec-Jan 2024-25 
Reviews...an electric performance by recent NASDA grad Judd. As Polly, she delivers barnstorming, girlish, somewhat feral renditions of two of the best songs.... It’s a stylish production with a clear sense of carnival atmosphere, as well as excellent musical direction and performances from the band.... I’m pleased that people are into it – there really is a lot to admire and enjoy – although given the original works’ acerbic political ambitions and sense of anticapitalist class consciousness, I’m not sure if that response, or my desire for great cohesion and a stronger point of view, is the more bourgeois. Poor theatre at its best... Stepping into The Pump House in Phillipstown for The Deadbeat Opera felt like entering a time warp into the Industrial Revolution.... From scoundrels to misfits, every performer embraced their oddities, creating a richly textured world full of eccentric personalities. Together, they brought to life a true cabinet of wonders, where the absurd was celebrated.... This production thrives on its weirdness and creativity, making it a must-see for anyone who enjoys immersive, unconventional theatre. Peter Faulkenberg’s direction embraces the unusual, and the eccentric cast delivers a performance fit for any house of curiosities. 
I've enjoyed the Free Theatre's performances for over 40yrs. They are always fantastic & this venue is amazing 
I thoroughly enjoyed my cultural experience last nite. So wonderful to see a group of dedicated performers giving their all. I love seeing the creativity that turns a large brick industrial room into a dynamic stage |
