Plays

The Beggar’s Opera

Translated by Paul Wilson
Directed by Amy Trompetter and Sergei Zemtsov
Produced by Harriman Institute and the Barnard College Theatre Department

At the Miller Theater

Performances: December 1 and 2

Synopsis
In Havel’s adaptation Macheath, Peachum, and the rest are in a world ruled by an oppressive, powerful bureaucracy, which by its very nature takes away its citizens’ humanity. Actors, large puppets and live music expose a farcical underworld, reverberating with cynical overtones familiar today.

Production history
The Beggar’s Opera is a classic, and so the Communist government overlooked, for one night at least, a production of it—without noticing that this production was of a new version by Havel.