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1. A Respectable Family

There are more photos from this production below. Selecting any of the small thumbnail images will show a larger version of the picture in the main part of the page. »

Polly by John Gay - Cutlas

- BOVTS at the Little Theatre, Bristol. Directed by Chris Denys. Music direction by John Telfer.

Continuing the theme of banned plays from 'Spring Awakening', Chris Denys hit on the sequel to John Gay's 'The Begger's Opera' for this wonderful production. Banned by the Lord Chamberlain in the 1730's as a way of getting back at Gay for the ridicule heaped upon the Prime Minister Robert Walpole and other 'great men' of the time in 'The Begger's Opera', 'Polly' is a true sequel (almost 'The Begger's Opera II - Polly's Return'!) picking up almost immediately after the events of the first play, as the dashing highwayman Macheath disguises himself and moves to the West Indies to embark on a career of piracy. His devoted Polly Peacham follows him, escaping the clutches of villainous whoremongers and lechers, stuffy English planters and exotic Indians, eventually disguising herself as a boy and being captured by pirates just in time to once again save her lover from the hanging he richly deserves.

Gay's trademark cynicism and rumbustious plotting make this a salty-sweet confection, and the music throughout (especially as arranged by the incredibly talented John Telfer) bounces the audience through the various scenes in a hugely enjoyable way. Chris Denys's direction quite rightly treated the whole thing as a huge, thighslapping, adult panto, and some really spectacular sets and stagings put the icing on the cake. It was a really great production to be involved in, even in a relatively small role (as yet another pirate!)

Among the cast, stand-out turns were Peter Akerman's Indian Chief, Adele Saleem and Suzie Gilmore as the alternating Pollys, and Tim Bentinck's darkly charismatic Macheath.

I'm the second from the left in the first picture below (and there's Nick Farrell again on the right!)