Birmingham Rep Stages THE THREEPENNY OPERA, Now thru April 12

One of the most pioneering productions of Birmingham Repertory Theatre's Spring 2014 season, Brecht and Weill's The Threepenny Opera, is as topical now as it was eighty-five years ago.

At a time of financial insecurity and grinding poverty, never has there been a more relevant time for a fresh exploration of society's reaction to surviving economic hard times, and allowing the social under-dogs to have their say. This beggars' opera, a story of the dispossessed and the downtrodden, will resonate across modern British society.

Welcome to a world where evil goes unpunished, marriages are false, money is corrupt, the law is fickle and lowly souls remain on the poverty line. Macheath and Polly Peachum are newlywed, much to the dismay of her father Mr Peachum. A plan is set to catch and arrest Macheath. Through brothels, blackmail, deceit and many, many women, he is eventually caught and taken to the gallows. Will he hang? Let's see what the government decides.

With live music played onstage by the actors themselves, delivering a score that includes such well-known songs as Mack the Knife andPirate Jenny, The Threepenny Opera is a riotous musical comedy that audiences will be begging to see.

Teaming up with Graeae, the UK's foremost disabled led theatre company, this co-production will be the first fully integrated production of Threepenny Opera ever performed. Using live audio description, a creative combination of BSL interpretation and captioning and an integrated cast of disabled and non-disabled performers, the co-directors, Jenny Sealey and Peter Rowe will bring their unique combination of theatrical passion to this modern classic.

Jenny Sealey, Artistic Director of Graeae said: "The Threepenny Opera is a glorious theatrical challenge where our truly unique motley crew whom have been marginalised or dismissed by society create their own world to tell the story from their perspective with punch, panache and passion. The narrative is painfully timely given the economic and political situation so it really is a production to be seen by anyone who despairs the world in which we live in but marvels at the resilience of human nature."

Jenny Sealy co-directed the London 2012 Paralympic Games opening ceremony, an event which provided a global platform for the skills and talent of Deaf and disabled artists. Now, this brand new production of The Threepenny Opera will endorse the claim that the UK is now a world leader in promoting diversity in the arts.

The Threepenny Opera will run tonight 27 March - Saturday 12 April. Curtain times are 7:300pm Monday - Saturday, apart from 7:00pm on Thursday 27 March. Matinees are at 2pm on Saturday 5 and Thursday 10 April.

After dark, a free post-show discussion with the company will take place Tuesday 1 April.

Tickets are £7 - £32.50 with concessions available. To purchase, call the box office at 0121 236 4455 or book online at www.birmingham-rep.co.uk.

The cast of The Threepenny Opera features Sonia Allori (Maisie), Sophie Byrne (Dolly), Amelia Cavallo (Jenny), Stephen Collins (Ned), Stacey Ghent (Nellie), Ben Coffe (Jake), Joey Hickman (Reverend Kimball), Barbara Hockaday (Betty), TJ Holmes (Smith), Ci Ci Howells (Polly), Tiger Brown Will Kenning (Tiger Brown), John Kelly (Narrator), Natasha Lewis (Lucy), Milton Lopes (Macheath), Victoria Oruwari (Mrs. Peachum), Garry Robson (JJ Peachum), Max Runham (Flich), and Joe Vetch (Bob)

The Threepenny Opera is directed by Peter Rowe & Jenny Sealey, with design by Neil Murray, musical direction by Robert Hyman, movement direction by Mark Smith, lighting design by Malcolm Rippeth, sound design by Drew Baumohl, projections design by Mark Haig, sign languge interpretation by Jude Mahon and audio. Wayne 'Pickles' Norman is the Audio Describer/Access Support Worker.

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