12 – 20 April

A raucous, radical adaptation of Polly, John Gay’s banned sequel to The Beggar’s Opera, with techno, tracksuits and palm trees.

In a tacky beach resort on a storm hit island we meet jilted brides, drag king politicians, a pregnant murderess, and a pirate boyband called Blazin’ Squid. Telling not just the story of Purest Polly Peachum but of the other wives of Mac the Knife as well, this is a viciously satirical, unashamedly sexy, fierce and very funny musical. It is a wild, joyous battlecry, an unashamed expression of female rage, of love, loss, and revenge. With songs inspired by Peaches, Britney and Nina Simone.

The making of Polly:

This is a gender-bending, anti-colonialist, proto-feminist play which hasn’t been seen since it was banned in the 18th Century. We started making it in 2018 at Theaterhaus, Berlin, drawing inspiration from the city that inspired Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill’s Threepenny Opera. In Berlin we played with form, structure and style, smashing the text apart, exploring our complex relationships with colonialism, love, sex and being women in the 21st Century. We listened to techno, punk and noughties pop, writing 16 new songs, howling, weeping, roaring and laughing over our heartbreaks, our hopes, our fears and our rage.

Returning to The Wardrobe Theatre for its Bristol premiere, Polly is a collaboration between Marie Hamilton (Madonna On The Rocks) and Sharp Teeth Theatre (Sherlock In Homes, Streaming Beauty) directed by Fringe First award winning director of Breathless, Stephanie Kempson (NY Times Critics Pick) and The Good, The Bad & The Coyote Ugly. The show was devised by the company, with a score by Cameron Macintosh award winner Ben Osborn, Madeline Shann and Ellie Showering (Breach Theatre, Insane Root).

The Wardrobe Theatre, The Old Market Assembly, 25 West Street, Old Market, Bristol, BS2 0DF

Photo credit: Chelsey Cliff