By Tatiana Bogomolova
The Threepenny Opera is perhaps the most well-known work by Bertolt Brecht, which he wrote at the age of 30, with Kurt Weill. It premiered with great success in Germany in 1928 and has since been performed regularly by major theatres worldwide.
Talented director Sergey Pavlyuk gives a modern interpretation of this play on Gomel’s stage, portraying the heartbreaking tale of love and greed, faith and betrayal, honour and wickedness. Set among London’s lowest society of crooks and beggars, pimps and prostitutes, thieves and corrupt policemen, Brecht’s characters are at once repulsive and compelling and, of course, utterly believable. The main protagonist is Mack the Knife, who is three times betrayed by his ‘friends’ in return for financial gain. The Threepenny Opera mocks conventions, forcing the audience to become sharply critical.
Svetlana Arkhipova’s sets and Yuri Buss’ choreography suit the play perfectly, which runs until mid-summer.
Gomel’s Regional Drama Theatre is to present three premieres, while the Nizhny Novgorod Gorky Academic Drama Theatre (named after Gorky) and theatres from Kursk, Ryazan and Brest will be presenting their own plays on its stage.
