A SCENIC AND LIGHTING DESIGN FOR
JOHN GAY'S THE BEGGAR'S OPERA
A Thesis
Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for
the degree Master of Fine Arts in the
Graduate School of the Ohio State University
by
Steven Elbert Boone, B.A.
* * * * *
The Ohio State University
1986
Master's Examination Committee: Approved ~ J Russell T. Hastings ~dT~ Adviser George Crepeau The Department of Theatre
Cindy Limauro VITA
August 10, 1956 . Born, Birmingham, Alabama
1980 B.A., University of Alabama at Birmingham
1983-Present Technical Director, Lighting Designer, Artist in Residence, Union College, Schenectady, ~ew York
FIELDS OF STUDY
Major Field: Theatre Design and Technology
ii NOTE
A complete, illustrated copy of this thesis, "A Scenic and Lighting Design for John Gay's The Beggar's Opera," is
located in the Jerome A. Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre
Research Institute, the Ohio State University, Columbus,
Ohio.
iii TABLE OF CONTENTS
VITA...... •... .. ii
NOTE. . . . . • ...... • . . • . . . . • . .. iii
LIST OF PLATES ...... •...... •. .• v
LIST OF FIGURES ..••...•...... vi
CHAPTER PAGE
I. The Author .
II. The History of the Play ...... 9
III. Synopsis of the Play...... 22
IV. Design Concept ...... 26
V. Scene Design Concept...... 29
VI. Lighting Design Concept 32
VII. Synopsis of Lighting Cues and Scene Changes 35
APPENDICES
A. The Scenic Model ...... 40
B. Technical and Design Drawings ...... 52
C. Painter's Elevations...... 70
BIBLIOGRAPHY . .. .. 73 LIST OF PLATES
PLATE PAGE I. Mr. Peachum's Drawing Room · · · · · · · · · 42 II. Mr. Peachum's Drawing Room (Detail) · · · · 43 I I I. A Tavern Near Newgate Prison · · · · · · · · 44 IV. A Tavern Near Newgate Prison (Detail) · · · 45 V. Mrs. Trapes' Gaming House · · · · · · · · · 46 VI. Mrs. Trapes' Gaming House (Detail) · ··· 47 VII. Peachum's Lock . . . . . · · · · · · · · · · 48 VIII. Peachum's Lock (Detail) · ··· · · · · · · 49 IX. Newgate Prison . . . . . · · · · · · · · · · 50 X. Newgate Prison (Detail) · · · · · · · · · · 5 1
v LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE PAGE
1 • Technical Draftings, Cover Sheet. . . . .• 53
2 . Perspective Sketch. . . . • . .• • . . .. 54
3. Ground Plan .. ..••.•...... 55
4. Decking Detail, Plan View ...... • 56
5- 1 1• Front Elevations ...... • . . . 57-63
12 • Lighting Design, Plan View. . • ...... 64
13 • Lighting Design, Section View ...... 65
14 • Dimmer Schedule •...... 66
15 • Instrument Schedule ...... 67
16. Equipment List...... 68
17 • Designer's Cheat Sheets ...... • 69
18. Painter's Elevations, Down Stage Units. .. 71
19 • Painter's Elevations, C.S. and U.S. Units . 71
20. Painter's Elevations, Cut Portal and Border 72
2 I • Painter's Elevations, Backdrop...... 72
vi THE AUTHOR
John Gay was born and educated in Barnstaple, a small country village in Devonshire, England, in 1685. He was orphaned by the age of ten and was taken in by an Uncle, who sent him to London in 1702, as an apprentice to a silk merchant. He returned to Barnstaple in 1706. It was in
1707, that his literary career began. He went to London as a secretary for one of his former Barnstaple Grammar School acquaintances, Aaron Hill, who was a playwright, magazine editor, and briefly, manager of the theatre at Drury Lane.
It was at this time that Gay began to be introduced to
London's literary circles. He began his literary career with Wine, a long, burlesque poem, published anonymously.
Apparently Gay thought little of this work, as he omitted it from the collection of his published works in 1720, 2 entitled Poems on Several Occasions.
His theatrical career did not begin until 1712, however, with The Mohocks, a "Tragi-Comical Farce.,,3 The play was
I C. F. Burgess, ed. The Beggar's Opera and Companion Pieces, by John Gay (Arlington Heights, Illinois: ARM Publishing Corporation, 1966), p. xxi.
2patricia Meyer Spacks, John ~ (New York: Twayne Publishers, Inc., 1965), p. 17.
3Th e Mohocks, title page. 2 published. but not produced.
Also that year. Gay became a domestic steward in the household of the Duchess of Monmouth. widow of the illegitimate son of Charles II. He held the position until
17 14 . It was during this period. and in the following few years that Gay began to realize his hopes and aspirations towards some position of prominence from his growing number of friends and acquaintances. His letters from the period are extremely optimistic. and overflow with names like
Oxford. Bathurst. the Duchesses of Monmouth, Marlborough. 4 and Queensberry. amoung others. In 1713. two of his poems were published. Rural Sports and The Fan. and his play.
The Wife ~ Bath. was produced at Drury Lane (perhaps sometime around May 5).5 The play was stylistically weak. and unfortunately. did not fare well with the London audiences. 6 In 1714, The Sheperd's Week. "six English Pastorals," his first successful literary work, was published. Also that year. Gay became secretary of the Scriblerus Club. whose members included Pope. Swift. Arbuthnot. Parnell. and
4 C. F. Burgess, ed. The Letters ~ John ~ (Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1966). p , xvi.
5"To Maurice Johnson. Jr .• " 23 April 1713. The Letters of John Gay. ed. C. F. Burgess. p. 2. --
6 F r o m "The Life of John Gay" (taken from Dr. Johnson's Lives ~ the Poets) in The Plays ~ John ~ (Boston: Small. Maynard and Co., Inc., n.d.). p. viii. 3
Oxford. Alexander Pope and Jonathan Swift were to prove
Gay's most valuable and lasting friends for the remainder 7 of his life.
In 1715. Gay's The Wat ~ Call ~ at Drury Lane
occasioned his first theatrical success. A "Tragi-Comi-
Pastoral Farce.,,8 it was performed twenty-eight times during
its first two seasons. and brought Gay some one hundred 9 pounds profit. His next literary success was Trivia.
published in 1716. Gay's next theatrical attempt was Three
Hours After Marr La g e , in 1717. It is notable in as much as
Gay. Pope. and Arbuthnot were collaborating authors in the
anonymously presented work. Unfortunately. it was a failure
at Drury Lane. The play was a clearly focused satire about
two would-be lovers. determined to cuckold a new husband.
Out of key with the emerging sentimentality of the period.
it recieved a riotous reception. to put it mildly. and may have in some way prejudiced the managment at Drury Lane
against another of his plays eleven years later. The 10 Beggar's Opera.
7Yvonne Noble. ed .• Twentieth Century Interpretations £i The Beggar's Opera (Englewood Cliffs. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. Inc .• 1975). p , 3.
8 Th e What ~ Call ~. title page. 9 Sp a c k s , p. 132. 10 Sp a c k s , pp. 134-35. 4
In 1719, Gay wrote the libretto for Handel's Acis and
Galatea, an "English Pastoral Opera,,,1 1 performed privately for the Duke of Chandos. It was later performed publicly at
Lincoln's Inn Fields' Theatre in 1731, and published in 12 1732. This is perhaps Gay's closest association with
Italian and English Opera, aside from the innumerable performances which he probably saw as confidant and confrere of his aristocratic friends.
In 1720, the previously unproduced and unpublished play, Dione, a "Pastoral Tragedy," appeared in Poems on
Several Occasions--a collection of Gay's work until that time. Johnson described Dione as five acts of "sheep and goats, and myrtle bowers and purling rivulets.,,13
Gay, by this time, had accumulated a modest fQJtune and began to invest it in the ill-fated South Sea Company. The company failed miserably, and Gay, against the advice of his friends, held out until the end. It was estimated that, including his original investment of 1,000 pounds (the profit from the 1729 edition of Poems), Gay lost some
20,000 pounds, and spent the rest of his life paying off the
II Ac i s and Galetea, title page.
12 J. V. Guernot and Rodney D. Jilg, Contexts I: The Beggar's Opera (Hamden, Connecticut: The Shoe String-press, Inc., 1976), p , 96. 13 Spacks, p. 137. 5 debt. The Duke and Duchess of Queensberry, his principal sponsors, took over Gay's Business affairs after the company's collapse, and prevented any more disastrous 14 financial ventures for the rest of his 1ife.
Gay's next play, The Captives, was produced at Drury
Lane on January 15, 1724. Labeled a "Bombastic, Heroic
Tragedy," it was a modest popular and finan ia1 success.
It was soon after this that Gay's world came into serious conflict with Robert Walpole, First Minister.
Walpole and the Whig Party had come into power in 1720, soon after the death of Queen Anne. Walpole systemati~a11y supressed all opposition to his government, including the previously powerful Tory Ministry under Queen Anne and some of Gay's closest acquaintances. Oxford was held in the
Tower for two years, Bolingbroke fled to France, Jonathan
Swift went into "permanent eXi1e,,15 in Dublin, and Alexander
Pope, from that time onward, became a recluse in upper
Twickenham.
Gay had always maintained a staunch disregard for party politics, and claimed to care "not a farthing"J6 for anything of the sort. Gay's non-partisan attitude saved him from a fate similar to that of Swift and Pope, allowing
14 0 1.1ver Warner, John ~ (London: Longmans, Green and Company, J964), p , 9. 15 Noble, p , 4.
16 Burgess, L etters, p. XV1.. 6 him to remain unfettered for the rest of his life, although he never received the court appointment for which he had always hoped. In fact, he received an insultingly menial offer in 1727, as Gentleman-Usher to the very young Princess
Louisa, at five pounds a year, which he refused.
Released from any obligations towards a gentle treatment of Walpole's government, or of any of the Whig aristocracy,
Gay seems to have sharpened his wit in Fables, a long poem, and to have drawn blood in The Beggar's Opera.
In Fables, Gay makes a veiled, but nonetheless pointed jest at the foppish mannerisms of the fashionable Parisians:
In Paris there's a race of animals,
(I've seen them at their Operas and Balls.)
They stand erect, they dance when-e're they walk,
Monkeys in action, perroquets in talk;
They're crown'd with feathers, like the cocatoo,
And, like camelions, daily change their hue.
(11. 31-36.)
Apparently, almost immediately after the opening of The
Beggar's Opera in 1728, Gay set to work on its sequel, Polly.
However, the Lord Chamberlain's Office refused to allow the play to be performed. Instead, Gay published the play on a subscription basis, which proved to be tremendously more lucrative than The Beggar's Opera had been. It was published in early April, 1729, and by the next year, had sold over
10,500 copies, bringing Gay at least 1,200 pounds--almost 7 17 twice as much as the profits from The Beggar's Opera. By
June, 1729, there were seventeen injunctions against various printers and booksellers for piracy.18 Support among Gay's friends was strong. The Duchess of Marlborough gave one hundred pounds for a single copy, and later was banished from court for her solicitous efforts on Gay's behalf. The
Duke of Queensberry resigned his appointments and "went into self imposed exile after Polly was banned.,,19
Polly was not entirely innocent, and was occasionally quite blatant in its political ridicule, such as this song in Act Three, Scene Four, in which Mrs. Trapes sings:
In pimps and politicians
The genius is the same;
Both raise their own conditions
On others guilt and shame
Each the want of parts supplies
And with a heart that's all disguise
Keeps his schemes unknown.
Although Polly now wanes compared to The Beggar's
Opera, it was quite popular at the time of its publication, the ban against its performance serving more to titilate the Lindon audience, than to turn it away.
17 Burgess, The Beggar's Opera, p. 10.
18James R. Sutherland, "Polly Amoung the Pirates," Modern Language Review, No. 37 (1942), p , 291. 19 L . Burgess, etters, p. XXi. 8
Gay, by this time had begun to accept his position with the Duke and Duchess of Queensberry as perhaps the best realization of his earlier aspirations, and spent the remainder of his years largely idle. His only new effort, was a ballad opera, Achilles, performed at the Theatre 20 Royal, Covent Garden, posthumously in 1732.
Gay had always neglected his health throughout his life, and had had several serious illnesses. In late
November, 1732, while in London, Gay suddenly took ill and died on December 2. John Gay, despite his humble beginnings in Devonshire, and despite opposition from from the highest political figures of the time, had become one of the most significant playwrights on the English stage during the entire eighteenth century.
20Allardyce Nicoll, ! History ~ English Drama: 1660 1900, II (Cambridge: University Press, 1965), p. 240. 9
THE HISTORY OF THE PLAY
The Beggar's Opera is considered to be the foremost
example of the curiously short-lived genre, ballad opera.
The original inception for the idea for The Beggar's Opera
is supposed to have come from a letter from Swift to Pope
in 1717, "What do you think of a Newgate pastoral among the whores and thieves there?,,21 Apparently the idea was
slowly nurtured, and eventually took shape in the play's
final form some eleven years later. However, this is not
to say that The Beggar's Opera is without precedent, nor
that Gay himself did not explore the world of criminals,
popular tunes, and bawdy lyrics long before The Beggar's
Opera was ever written.
The populace of London had long been fascinated by
their own criminal elements. Since Elizabethan times, unscrupulous printers had been peddling hastily fabricated, but nonetheless quite lucrative biographies of the more
famous criminals for one or two pennies a piece at the hangings at Tyburn Hill, a place of execution just outside the ancient walls of London. The works all seemed to have several common themes, usually incorporating "highly stereotyped and depressingly sordid accounts of villainy,
2 I Warner, p , 10. 10 22 vice, disease, and eleventh hour repentence." In I 7 14 ,
Captain Alexander Smith published! Complete History of the
Lives and Robberies ~ the Most Notorious Highwaymen. It was apparently so popular that it reached its fifth edition just five years later, in 1719.
The trend was reflected on London's stages in a number of plays between 1715 and 1730. One example, Woman's
Revenge: or. ! Match in Newgate. by Christopher Bullock was per formed in 1715. It featured a cast of characters of professional cheats and thieves and was set in or near
Newgate P rl.son.· 23
In the early 1720's, a crime wave swept the city of
London. As there was no established constabulatory at the time. only a "night watch" under the auspices of the Sheriff of London. and several scattered parish police forces; citizens were obliged to take their own measures for personal safety. Dr. Samuel Johnson was reported to have carried a large, heavy walking stick. and the axiom "prepare for death if here at night you roam" became known throughout 24 London.
In 1724. Harlequin Sheppard. a pantomime based on the two daring escapes of Jack Sheppard from London's Newgate
22 . Guerl.not. p. 5 • 23 . Gu e r i n o t , p , 10. 24 Dorothy Marshal. Dr. Johnson's London (New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc-.-,-1968). pp. 240-46. I I
Prison, appeared on the London stage. Although it was
booed off the stage by the audience during its first, and
last performance, it is notable because a ballad by John
Gay, called "Newgate's Garland" appeared in it. The ballad made use of a device which Gay later used to his great skill
and advantage, that is, new lyrics set to an old, familiar
tune, in this case, "Packington's Pound.,,2S
"Newgate's Garland" was based on a true account of a courtroom fight between Sheppard himself, and Jonathan Wild,
self-proclaimed thief-taker and receiver of stolen property.
The position of thief-taker is similar to what in the
American West, would have been called a bounty hunter.
Anyone who brought a criminal to justice, no matter what the charge, received a forty pound reward. It should be noted
that there were over one hundred offences, most of them having to do with property or robbery, which were punishable by hanging at the time.
Wild had diversified himself from being a simple thief-taker, and had begun to cultivate a network of thieves and pickpockets. He would collect the stolen goods, and then openly solicit rewards from their owners for the return of the property. Any criminals who infringed on Wild's activities were simply eliminated by "peaching," that is to say, they were impeached, or turned in to the magistrates
25 . Gu e r I n o t , p , I 9 • 12 i n return for the r e war d . Public outcry eventually caught up with Wild, and in 1725, he was convicted and hung at 2 6 Tyburn Hill. Wild's execution, however popular, did not attract as many spectators as the execution of Jack Sheppard.
Sheppard had escaped twice from Newgate Prison, an almost unprecedented feat. Know as a great womanizer, he received assistance from Elizabeth Lyon for his first escape. She later rebuffed him by turning him in to Wild.
The next time, he made an even more spectacular escape from the most heavily guarded room in the prison, "the castle," and wrote a small leaflet or pamplet describing the lengths to which he went to escape his fate. It was later reprinted in A Narrative ~ all the Robberies, Escapes, ~ ~ Jack
Sheppard. . London: Printed and sold by John Applebee, a little below Bridewell Bridge, in Black Freyers. He was, nonetheless, eventually apprehended and hung, attracting 2 7 an unbelievable crowd of 200,000 people.
The parallels between Peachum and Wild, as well as
Macheath and Sheppard are self-evident. The very name
Peachum is obviously drawn from the term for which Wild was so well known--"to peach." Similarly, Macheath, like
Sheppard, has no resistance to the "fair sex" and finds them eventually to be his own ruin.
26 Noble, p , 6. 27 Noble, p , 56. 13
There is a second parallel drawn in The Beggar's Opera between Peachum and Robert Walpole, First Minister. So that the audience would not miss the comparison, it began in the first air of the first act, in which Peachum sings, " the Statesman because he's so great/Thinks his Trade as honest as mine." The reference to the greatness of the statesman is, in fact, something of a double entendre.
Walpole, as well as being a great politician, was indeed a great man, weighing almost three hundred pounds in life.
The Beggar's Opera, although it did firmly establish the genre, was not actually the first ballad opera in
England. Previously in London, "The Gentle Shepherd," a pastoral set to Scottish airs was written by Alan Ramsay, and performed in 1725. At the same time in France, comedie en vaudeville, a close form to ballad opera, became popular.
It utilized dialogue interspersed with a number of songs consisting of new lyrics set to well known tunes. It also parodied the acting and stature of the grand opera singers with highly stylized movement and gesture, and gross costume elements. An example of the genre, entitled Le Tableau du 2 8 Mariage, was performed in London in 1726.
The precedent for ballad opera had certainly been established, but Gay's task was not an easy one. His first choice for a theatre in which to have it performed was
28 . Gu e r i n o t , p. 6 . 14
Drury Lane. However, Colley Cibber opted for a new play
by a fresh, young playwright named Henry Fielding. Gay
went to Cibber's riva1 7 John Rich at the theatre at
Lincoln's Inn Fields. Rich would not have produced the play
had it not been for the intervention of the Duchess of
Queensberry, who guaranteed to make up any financial loss
R1C' hm1g . h't 1ncur 1n. t h e venture. 29
William Congreve is reported to have said after reading
the play, "It would either take greatly or be damned
confoundedly,,,30 and Pope had similar misgivings in a letter
to Swift:
Mr. Congreve is anxious to its Success,
and so am I; Whether it succeeds or not, it
will make a great noise, but whether of Claps 31 or Hisses I know not.
On opening night as well, the fate of the play would
seem to have still been in jeopardy. Benjamin Victor wrote
in The History ~ the Theatres ~ London and Dublin
London, 1761, II, p , 154:
on the first Night of Performance, its
Fate was doubtful for some Time. The first
29Burgess, The Beggar's Opera. p. viii.
30peter Lewis, ed., The Beggar's Opera (London: Cox and Wyman, Ltd., 1973), p , 2. 3 I George Sherburn, ed., The Correspondence ~ Alexander ~, II (Oxford: University Press, 1956), Letter 469. 15
Act was received with silent Attention, not a
Hand moved; at the End of which they rose, and
every Man seemed to compare Notes with his
Neighbour, and the general Opinion was in its
Favour. In the second Act they broke their
Silence, by Marks of their Approbation, to the
great Joy of the frightened Performers, as well as
the Author; and the last Act was received
Wlt. h'unlversa 1App 1 ause. 32
The Daily Journal, February I, 1728, however, carried a more favorable opening night review:
On Monday was presented for the first Time,
at the Theatre Royal in Lincoln's Inn Fields,
Mr. Gay's new English Opera, written in a
Manner wholly new, and very entertaining,
there being introduced, instead of Italian
Airs, about 60 of the most celebrated old
English and Scottish Tunes. There was present,
then as well as last Night, a prodigious
Concourse of Nobility and Gentry, and no
Theatrical Performance for these many Years has 3 3 met with so much APplause.
32 . Gu e r a n o t , p. 159. 33 . Gu e r i n a t , p. 157 . 16
By another account, printed in Boswell's Life of
Johnson, II, pp. 368-9:
. during the first night of its appearance
it was long in a very dubious state; that
there was a disposition to damn it, and that
it was saved by the song (Air XXI),
"Oh ponder well! be not severe!"
the audience being much affected by the innocent
looks of Polly, when she came to those
two lines, which exhibit at once a painful
and ridiculous image,
"For on the rope that hangs my Dear,
depends poor Polly's life.,,34
One of the dignitaries present in the opening night audience was Walpole himself. In this excerpt, taken from
William Cook, Memoirs ~ Charles Macklin, Comedian, London,
1804, pp. 53-55, the awkward moment when the audience realized the stinging political satire is retold:
(When) Lockit sings the song (Air XXX),
"When you censure the age, &c."
which had such an effect on the audience, that
as if by instinct, the greater part of them
threw their eyes on the stage box, where the
minister was sitting, and loudly encored it: Sir
34Guerinot, p. 158.
- 17
Robert saw the stroke instantly. and saw it with
good humour and discretion; for no sooner
was the song finished. than he encored it a
second time himself. joined in the general
applause. and by this means brought the audience
into so much good humour with him. that they
gave him a general huzza from all parts of the 35 house.
One other retelling may be found in John. Lord Hervey.
Some Materials Towards Memoirs ~ the Reign ~ Charles !I.
London. 1931. I. p , 98:
(The Beggar's Opera) was so extremely
pretty. that even those who were most
glanced at in the satire had prudence enough
to disguise their resentment by chiming in with
the universal applause with which it was 36 performed.
At any rate. the play. despite opening night misgivings. turned out to be a tremendous success. It ran for sixty-two 3 7 performances the first season. and fifty-nine performances the second season. including sixteen performances by the
35 . Guerl.not. p , 94. 36 . Guerl.not. p. 95. 37 . Guerl.not. p. 160. 18 3 8 Lilliputians, a company of child actors. The play's
popularity spread to a number of other cities in the British
Isles, often being performed as many as thirty to fourty
times, and in the cities of Bath and Bristol, The Beggar's 3 9 ~~ ran an incredible fifty performances. In light of
modern day performance totals for Broadway musicals, these
figures do not really stand out, but compared to eighteenth
century standards, when single performances were not uncommon,
and a successful run might consist of five or six
performances the figures for The Beggar's Opera are 4 0 staggering. The famous phrase that the play "made Gay
rich and Rich gay," however, should have been reversed.
Including benefits, Gay probably made somewhere in the
neighborhood of 800 pounds, while Rich cleared 4,000 pounds 4 1 in the first two seasons.
The play's success cast the two principal actors,
Lavania Fenton as Polly, and Thomas Walker as Macheath, into
instant stardom. Lavania Fenton went on to become the
Duchess of Bolton, and Thomas Walker, although his success was second to that of Mrs. Fenton's, was patronized by all
38 . L ew~s, p , 3. 39 . Guer~not, p , 160. 40 . Guer~not, p. 161. 41 Burgess, The ~gar's Q.pe_r_~, p , x. 19 42 the "gay gallants of the town."
Mrs. Fenton lived out the rest of her years in a life
of luxury. Although she rarely returned to London, and was
never presented at court, she was said to have been as
easily moved to smiles as to tears, and to have lead a
life of "kindly merit.,,43 She died at her home, Westcombe
House, Kent, in January, 1760.
Walker, though, did not fare quite as well as Mrs.
Fenton in later life. He tended towards continual drinking
and it was said that he was "frequently under the necessity
of eating sandwiches (or as they were called, anchovy toasts)
behind the scenes, to mask his noxious breath. One can
only pity poor Polly and Lucy when they had to endure the
embraces and salutes of the 'rollicking highwayman' .,,44
After his success in The Beggar's Opera, Walker turned his
talents to writing, and penned one of the many imitations
of The Beggar's Opera, entitled The Quaker's Q~. It was unfortunately, not a great success, and he eventually slipped 4 5 into obscurity and died in 1744.
The Beggar's Opera went on to become one of the most
42Charles E. Pierce, Polly Peachum: Being the Story of Lavania Fenton (Duchess ~ Bolton) and The Beggar's Opera, (London: Stanley Paul and Co., 1913), p , 112. 43 Pearce, p , 298. 44 Pearce, p. I 12 . 45 Pearce, p • J J 2- I J 3. 20 popular theatrical works in the eighteenth century theatre.
It crossed the Atlantic and played at the Nassau Street
Theatre in New York as early as 1750, and was said to have been George Washington's favorite play. By 1770, it had successfully invaded the entire western world. Translations appeared throughout France, as well as the rest of the continent. Even in Germany, it appeared under the title,
Die Strassenrauber (The Highway~an).
In 1923, it received one of its more popular revivals at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith by Nigel Playfair. The original orchestral score by Jonathan Pepusch was arranged for this production by Frederick Austin, and stands to this day as the definitive interpretation of the various airs.
The Beggar's Opera's leading roles have become popular vehicles for some of the most popular actors and actresses throughout its history; most recently, Sir Lawrence Olivier 4 6 as Macheath in the film version in 1953. Another notable production appeared in 1963, by the Royal Shakespeare
Company. In it, a somewhat more Brechtian approach was taken to the play, and it was set entirely within a prison ship.47
The Beggar's Q£era's offspring have included a pantheon of works, from the comic operettas of Gilbert and Sullivan,
46Burgess, The Beggar's Opera, p. xi. 47 Spacks, p p , 145-46. 2 I to the Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill collaboration, The Three
Penny Q~, which is directly based on it. The Beggar's
~~ stands out as a singular event in the English theatre which may never be repeated. 22
SYNOPSIS OF THE PLAY
The Beggar's Q£era opens with a prologue in which the
Poet introduces the play, and its author, the Beggar, who,
in turn, explains that the "Op'ra" has not an reprehensible
character in it--trulls, thieves, highwaymen, and whores-
the low-life of London, but all, nonetheless, quite human.
After a brief overture the play opens in the house of
Mr. Peachum, where we meet Peachum himself, his operative,
Filch, Mrs. Peachum, and, lastly, Polly. Early in the
scene, Filch reveals to Mrs. Peachum that Polly has married
the roguish highwayman, Macheath. Mrs. Peachum sings "Our
Polly is a sad Slut," lamenting that her daughter has thrown herself away on a highwayman. Peachum demands that Polly
turn Macheath in as an escaped criminal, an offense for which he will almost surely be hung at Tyburn Hill, and for which Peachum will receive forty pounds reward.
Mr. and Mrs. Peachum exit, and Polly brings Macheath
on. The act ends as Polly and Macheath affirm their mutual
love (Air XVI) :
. And I would love you all the Day
Every Night would kiss and play,
If with me you'd fondly stray
Over the Hills and far away.
Act two opens in a tavern near Newgate Prison. The gang 23 members are drinking and preparing to go out on their nightly conquests. Macheath enters and confesses that he cannot join them in the evening's plunder, and after they leave, entertains a large group of "ladies." It is in this scene that Macheath reveals his fatal flaw--his disposition for "the ladies." This soon proves to be his undoing as
Jenny Diver gives him a Judas-like kiss; the prearranged signal for Peachum and the parish constables to enter and arrest Macheath.
The scene changes to Newgate Prison. Macheath is led in and must bribe the keeper, Lockit, (as was the fashion) in order to receive a more comfortable pair of fetters.
Lucy, one of Macheath's past conquests, enters, and at first expresses her satisfaction and joy at seeing Macheath receive his just reward. "To see the tourtur'd should give me pleasure," (Act II, Scene ix.). However, the sight of
Macheath eventually revives her love for him, and she soon feels more sympathetic towards him. In an awkward moment,
Polly enters and discovers her rival. Polly and Lucy both unite in their aggravation with Macheath, and they both sing
(Air XXXVI):
Polly: I'm bubbled
Lucy: I'm bubbled
Polly: Dh, how I am troubled!
Lucy: Bambouzled and Bit!
Polly: My Distresses 24
are doubled.
Lucy: When you come to the Tree, should
the Hangman refuse
These Fingers, with Pleasure, could
fasten the Noose.
Peachum enters and drags both women away. At the prospect of being separated from Macheath, their affections for him instantly return. Later, Lucy sneaks back to him, and he convinces her to aid him in his escape.
Act Three finds Macheath free at Mrs. Trapes' Gaming
House. Mrs. Trapes tricks Macheath into the waiting arms of Peachum and Lockit, and he goes again to Newgate Prison.
Lucy, out of jealousy, tries to poison Polly with a cordial laced with "rat bane." However, her scheme does not work.
Finally, five other wives, with a child each, enter.
To Macheath, this is too much. He gives himself freely to the "gaolers" to be taken to the hill and hanged, but suddenly the Poet interceeds. The Beggar explains that in order to do strict poetic justice, all of the highwaymen and thieves were to be either hanged or transported. The
Poet convinces the Beggar not to pen such a tragic ending, and instead (in the style of Italian grand opera), an incredible last minute reprieve is hastily written into the ending, saving Macheath from "the tree." Macheath is left alive and happy with but one true wife, Polly, and the play ends with a rousing song and dance: 25
. Each calls forth her Charms, to provoke his Desires: Though willing to all; but with
one he retires. But think of this Maxim, and
put off your Sorrow, the Wretch of To-day, may
be happy To-morrow. 26
DESIGN CONCEPT
The overall concept of the production, is based upon the premise that the play itself is a parody of the upper classes in eighteenth century London, performed by elements of the city's low-life and riffraff. In this light, the . play should make a statement about the tremendous disparity between the poverty stricken lower classes, and the extremely wealthy aristocracy. The production should present a world corrupted with business values, in which everything could be bought for money; a world in which the shopkeeping middle class values are pitted against the virtuous; a world in which a thin veneer conceals the squalor of prisons and workhouses, thoroughly rotten with society's capitalistic values. However, this is not to say that the play is to be taken too seriously in approaching the design concept.
Some of the play's sixty-nine airs are sentimental, or even tragic, but on the average, most are light and joyous, such as the tavern song (Air XIX):
Fill ev'ry Glass, for Wine inspires us,
And fires us
With Courage, Love and Joy.
A heavy handed approach to the play might make this production too weighty in comparison to the content of the script and 27
music.
Although the play is definitely early eighteenth
century in flavor, references in the script in no way limit
the play to the date of 1728. Movement towards 1740 would
allow a slightly softer look in some of the costumes
(especially Polly's) with little effect on the decoration
and ornament involved in the scene design. There fore, the
production is set in the late 1730's to the mid 1740's.
The pace of the play is sometimes thoughtful and
sentimental, for example when Polly laments the fate of
Macheath, or more often, raucous and fast; but always moving.
Scene changes, costume changes, and line cues should all reflect this. There must always be either song or dialogue, but never the dreadful, silent sound of a wasted moment on stage. The feeling of movement is the play is essential to
the overall effect.
For artistic references to the period, certainly the work of William Hogarth must not be ignored. Almost every character in The ~ar's Opera can be found in his copious renderings of everyday life among London's lower classes.
His painting of the prison scene in which Lucy and Polly are begging their fathers to release Macheath was quite popular during the period. Other references to the period may be
found among such artists as Per Hillestrom (1735-1805) in his workhouses, ironworks, mines,etc.; Jacobson, in his portraits of court personages; Piranesi in his drawings and 28 etchings of prisons; Frances Wheatly, especially in his
Mr. John Howard Offering Relief !£ the Prisoners (1787); as well as Boucher and Watteau, among others.
To reiterate, the action of the play should be continuous; never stopping for scene changes. In aChieving this effect, it is essential that the actors act as the vehicle of the various changes. The Beggar, or some other character involved in the change, might step down stage and, by way of a short introduction, announce the next scene, while others in the "gang" quickly move the various props on or off stage. These short introductions would aid the modern audience in their understanding of the play, and are not without precedent. By the same token, the number of props to be carried on or off must be kept to a minimum in order to aid in the brevity of the changes.
If this production makes an overall statement, it is a compound one. The setting is that of a prison or workhouse, reflecting the tremendous separation of the economic classes.
However, at the same time, the color palette of the setting and costumes presents a warm, romanticised view of the play, with its light-hearted and happy airs, and its playful
jest at the government of Robert Walpole. 29
SCENE DESIGN CONCEPT
For the scenery, the production utilizes a unit set with a large, flexible playing space in the center. Drawing on the concept of a corrupted world, the set is designed along the lines of an eighteenth century workhouse or prison. Textures used represent dark, imposing, prison-like stonework, with rough hewn beams, massive and heavy in appearance. The arrangement of the pillars and arches allows six main entrances and exits, three on either side of the stage, much like the traditional wing and drop scenery popular during the period. Also incorporated in the design is the second level platform which rings the stage on three sides. The level is designed so that an actor may move entirely along it from either side of the stage to the other, or descend by any of the three staircases which connect it with the stage level proper, or by any of the six escape stairs off stage. The main use of the upper level would occur during the scenes with a large number of characters on stage; such as the tavern, gaming house, and condemned hold scenes.
The color palette used is limited to earth tones, principally ochres, siennas, and umbers, much like Frances
Wheatly's painting, entitled Mr. John Howard Offering Relief 30 to the Prisoners. Although this particular work dates from a later period, the slightly romanticised treatment of the interior of the prison is aptly suited to The Beggar's
Opera. An additional artistic source which lends itself greatly towards the oppressive atmosphere of the economic state of London's lower classes is the prison scenes of
Piranesi. Here, there is a weighty quality and a dark atmosphere which also adds to the prison/workhouse character present in the scenery.
Generally speaking, the scenes may be broken down into five different locations. The first is Peachum's drawing room. It consists of a sofa, or settee, a chair, and a side table, all of which are moved on and off stage by the servants. The second scene (which is similar to Peachum's house), is Peachum's "lock," the location where he receives and keeps stolen goods. The furniture consists of some odd, assorted chairs with a few expensive trinkets lying about in crates. Here, as in the first scene in Peachum's house, the furniture should be of an obviously higher quality.
Conversely speaking, the furniture in the third and fourth scenes (the tavern and the gaming house), should consist of basic, rough forms, well worn and never worth much money.
Both scenes utilize a table and a few rough benches, like those found in Hogarth's or Rowlandson's drawings. The tone of these scenes is more humble and earthy. It is here that
Macheath and his gang meet and plan their daring and bold 3 1
exploits. These scenes should be warm and romantic in the
choice of colors.
Finally, the fifth location is Newgate Prison. While
different locations are called for in the script, the
production uses the basic unit set as the scenic element
for all of the scenes in and around Newgate, with an
occasional rough wooden chair or bench used for the keepers.
Prisoners were traditionally chained to a staple in the 4 8 wooden floor at Newgate rather than placed "behind bars"
as we would today. Macheath, while in the condemned hold,
is manacled about his wrists, on a five to six foot chain
attached to a large bolt in the floor, which would seem more
accurate to a modern audience than the "irons" and "fetters" which were actually used.
48Daniel Defoe, ~ Narrative ~f all Robberies, Escapes, &c. ~ Jack Sheppard ... (London: John Applebee, 1974), p. 17 • 32
LIGHTING DESIGN CONCEPT
The overall concept for the lighting of The Beggar's
Oper~ basically consists of a series of realistic moments on stage, moving from scene to scene smoothly and gently.
It is essentially a motivated scheme, utilizing high, or sharp angle key lights with accompanying fill light to add visibility. In addition, the play is lit as if it began in the late afternoon in Peachum's house. The lighting progresses On through the night in the Tavern, Gaming House, and Newgate Prison scenes, and, in the final scene, the sun begins to rise anew as Macheath awaits his fate in the condemned hold. In order to comment visually on the difference between the brave and courageous world of
Macheath and his gang, and the corrupt and evil world of
Peachum and Lockit, the lighting should be warmer and cozier for the scenes involving the gang members, and cooler and harsher (more key and back light) for the scenes involving Peachum and his associates.
The first act takes place in Peachum's sitting room.
As Peachum and the others move about, cool, bright daylight streams in on them, as if it were coming in through windows located all around the room.
The next scene, the Tavern, is set during the early evening. Oil lamps and candles light the room and the 33
atmosphere is filled with a kind of warm, dusty haze.
Newgate Prison is dark and ominous. Lit by torches
and oil lamps, the atmosphere here is black and oppressive.
A few shafts of moonlight stream down onto the center of
the stage, catching Macheath in silhouette when he is not
lit by a torch or a lamp.
Peachum's Lock, as it is still night outside, is again
lit by lamps and candles. However, a cool atmosphere must
remain throughout the scene, in order to set it apart from
the warmer Tavern and Gaming House scenes.
Mrs. Trapes' gaming house is much like the Tavern
scene. However, since it is later at night, it is slightly
darker and a little more confined. When Macheath is taken
again to Newgate, the scene is even bleaker than before. A
single shaft of light from above casts a shadow of a barred
prison window on Macheath, who is chained to a large bolt
in the floor, just left of center stage. However, as the
scene progresses, the sun, ever so slightly, begins to rise,
and by the time the noose is around Macheath's neck and the
reprieve arrives, the sun in all its glory, has risen once
again on the now merry scene.
Although the lighting changes throughout the entire
play are inevitably noticable, there should be almost
indiscernable changes within each scene, such as a cozy moment, or an intimate song between Polly and Macheath.
On the whole, though, the lighting should endeavor to 34 emphasize the difference between the cooler, harsher world of the Peachum's, and the warm, boisterous world of Macheath and his gang. 35
SYNOPSIS OF LIGHTING CUES
AND SCENE CHANGES
As the audience enters, the set is lit by a few, dim shafts of sunlight, filtering in through unseen prison windows. This " p r e show" lighting remains in effect until the house lights go to half, at which time the Beggar and the Poet enter down stage left. The stage lights come up slowly to illuminate them as they go through the prologue.
At the end of the prologue, the house lights go down to one-quarter and the orchestra plays the overture.
During the overture, several servants enter with the furniture for the first scene. The Poet and the Beggar direct the arrangement of the props, occasionally referring to the tattered and worn script which the Beggar carries, correcting the inevitable mistakes committed by the bumbling servants. At the conclusion of the overture, and of their efforts, the Beggar steps down stage and proudly announces,
"The House of Mr. Peachum," and then bows and makes his exit. The lights come up on Mr. Peachum's sitting room.
As the act progresses, the lighting changes from middle to late afternoon. The act ends with a very sweet and sentimental air as Macheath is exiting through the door, down stage right. As the music fades in the end, the last 36 dying rays of sunlight catch Polly for just a moment after
Macheath has closed the door, and then gently begin to fade out on the last note of the music.
As the audience applauds, the house lights come up and the stage is slowly illuminated by a low level set warmer.
During the brief intermission, the servants enter and remove the furniture, leaving the stage bare.
At the end of the intermission, as the house lights fade to half, and then to one-quarter, the servants, now dressed in considerably lower fashion, begin to place a number of lamps and candles about the stage, As this happens the illumination on stage begins to change to a warm, smoke-filled interior. The Beggar steps down stage, clutching his script and keeping his place with his finger as he reads aloud, "A Tavern near Newgate Prison, where
Macheath's Gang are drinking." During this time, the house lights have faded out, and at the conclusion of the Beggar's introduction, the orchestra bursts into a very brief reprise of Air XIX ("Fill ev're Glass, &c."). The eighteen characters who are in the next scene boisterously enter, carrying with them a table, benches, barrels, crates, glasses, more lamps and candles, and other props used in the next scene. The lighting brightens up as they enter and remains that way through the tavern gang's two songs.
After the gang departs, the lighting subtly becomes centered in a slightly smaller area around the table and 37
Macheath. Then, as the ladies enter, the lights come back
up to the previous level, except slightly cooler. Then,
when the Constables enter to arrest Macheath, the lighting
becomes even cooler still, as if night were closing in
around the tavern.
At the end of the scene, the lights go down as a number
of the characters enter to remove the tavern props and leave
in their place, a few crates, bare planks, and a chain
attached to a bolt in the floor, center stage. The lights
come up, revealing the prison, again mainly lit by lanterns
and candles. A number of pairs of rusty, unkept manacles
and chains hang from the facing of the upper level, stage
le ft. One of the Turnkeys, who is grossly disfigured by
rickets, removes a particularly nasty pair by means of a
long pole with a hook attached to the end. After bribing
Lockit and the Turnkey, Macheath is given one of the nicer
looking pairs, which are, in turn, attached to the chain in
the floor. As the scene progresses, night seems to grow
around them.
In scene ten, Peachum and Lockit enter through the door, down stage right. One of the Gaolers brings in a stool
and a chair for them, and a nearby crate serves as a table
for the account book. The Beggar enters again with the script and reads, "Peachum and Lockit are settling
Accounts." As they enter, the lights go down on Lucy and
Macheath (now stage left), and come up on Peachum and Lockit. 38
Later. in scene twelve. essentially the reverse occurs when Macheath enters stage right and Lockit and Lucy exit stage left. As the Beggar reads. "Lucy has crept back to her Lover." Lucy re-enters stage left in the shadows.
The scene progresses. becoming warmer and brighter. leading up to Air XXXVIII. which is Quite lively and Quick.
After Polly exits. the scene becomes cozy and close as
Macheath seduces Lucy into aidi~g his escape. The act ends as Lucy sings the last Air.
After another brief intermission. Act Three opens on the bare set. The Beggar announces. "Macheath has escaped. and Lucy is suspected by her Father." The lighting is again motivated by numerous candles and lamps which have remained throughout the intermission. At the end of the scene, the Beggar enters and reads. "Mrs. Trapes' Gaming
House, where Macheath. and Matt of the Mint are with the
Ladies." As he reads. several of the gang members and whores bring on a table. benches. stools. and other props.
The scene is happy and raucous. and Mrs. Trapes soon ushers them all away to other rooms in the house. As they leave. they take with them most of the props. and Peachum's servants enter with the furniture for Peachum's lock. followed by
Peachum and Lockit.
During this change. the lighting for the gaming house fades. and a cooler. harsher light comes up for Peachum's lock. motivated by only a few lamps which were brought in 39 with the gaming house.
The lights fade at the end of this scene as Lockit and
Peachum exit to capture Macheath. The servants enter and remove Peachum's furniture, and the remainder of the play takes place in Newgate Prison.
Lucy and Polly enter, each carrying a lamp. The lighting is mostly very dark, with deep shadows and occasional shafts of moonlight filtering through unseen holes in the roof overhead. After Lucy attempts to poison Polly,
Macheath is lead in, in chains, by the Gaolers, Lockit, and
Peachum. They also carry with them a few more lamps, and the lighting is adjusted accordingly.
The scene ends as Lockit leads Macheath off to his hasty trial at the Old Bailey, and Macheath sings one final air (LVII) "The Charge is prepar'd, The Lawyers met. "
The lighting dims and the Beggar enters down stage and reads, "The Condemn'd Hold . Mac h eath has bee n sentenced to be hanged this very Morning." The light on the
Beggar dims as Macheath enters, at first in silhouette, along with a Turnkey who reattaches his chain to the floor. A solitary shaft of moonlight picks out Macheath as he sings
Air LVIII, "0 cruel, cruel, cruel Case. " The light on Macheath grows as he sings, motivated by a lamp left on a crate by the Turnkey, who now has fallen asleep.
At the end of the song, another Gaoler enters with a lamp, along with Macheath's old gang, who also bring more 40
lights with them, and perhaps a drink or two to give Macheath
as a sort of last offering of their friendship.
When Polly and Lucy enter, the sun begins to rise very
slowly. At first, it is practically imperceptible, but by
the time Macheath's other wives enter, it has become slightly noticable. The Poet stops the performance and has the
Beggar tear the ending out of the script and rewrite it to suit his tastes. The combination of the warm light from the
lamps and candles, along with the now breathtaking sunrise makes a splendid setting for the final song and dance as
the production ends with the entire cast singing "The Wretch of To-day, may be happy To-morrow." [ tJ
iaaow JINaJS aHl
v XlaNaddV
44
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Fig. 18. Painter's Elevation, Down Stage Units.
,--
1131:G(;'\R'5F~~ ()PER.'\ _.
Fig. 19. Painter's Elevation, C.S. and U.s. Units. 72 I ------
Fig. 20· Painter's Elevation, Cut Portal and Border.
.,. ~ ,,~~; ~'~ .', ....'~. : 0;, ,
,r' .,~ , - ',""_. ''C' - I f/;,T ' ..';r:~"ti'~ ',' ~~~",_"1. -L .~,_)r.,'J'.' ~.~_( V '1"'\<2';";' , ~,. 1 I"~ ,.' .• ~ It ,- •. " .' . ~ , .... ,,","~ , '. I' . d<~I. '. ~~. \\;~J. .,'l--;t. "c . . -"",'~[. " .-~, ·f .".~ ~ -1;.\ ::." A~ i: 'l:...tt ') ~,'i! .~ :. " 'if • ,~'; .'C\! ' ~~ • l' \'__ -,\I" .',' < ,"1-."'J~".• '. ..
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Fig. 21. Painter's Elevation, Backdrop. 73
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