★★★

“well worth a watch for its strong performers”

In Miss Brexit, four Europeans compete to gain the leave to remain in an absurd pageant that sees the contestants attempt to assimilate to British culture. By the end of the show, three Europeans have been deported, while one is crowned Miss Brexit.

George Berry is the MC of this bizarre circus, bringing impressive physicality and energy to the role. Among the contestants, Miss Switzerland (Maxence Marmy) stands out for her impressive vocals. Meanwhile, Miss Catalonia (Alba Villaitodo) steals every scene she’s in with her unabashed commitment to the over-the-top comedic acting the tone of the show commands, which some of the other performers lack at times. The contestants’ shiny leotards (from costume designer Olga Ntenta) really add to the absurdity of the show, though I wish Berry’s showman had been given something a tad more ‘British’ to wear. By contrast, the stage was empty bar a projector screen, a bareness I found jarring when compared to the performers’ decked out do’s. Although the projected images (by Pablo Fernández Baz) work well, I wish directors Amaia Mugica and Alejandro Postigo had chosen for a slightly more elaborate set.

Each of the contestants, in their plea to stay in the country, tells the story of how they immigrated to the UK. The recurring references to ‘dreaming of being a performer’ make me think these stories have some semblance to the actors’ own lives, which is a nice touch. Additionally, some of the songs (by Harvey Cartlidge & Tom Cagnoni) are sung in a contestant’s native language. This makes for a heartwarming celebration of diversity in a show about conformity and xenophobia, though it’s unfortunate that the words are mostly lost on the audience.

By focusing on these personal stories, the show does lose some of its satirical punch: the issues the characters experience come to feel individual rather than structural. Slightly more focus on Brexit as a political and cultural event would have served this show well. One of my favourite moments was when the MC divided the audience up into chunks that represent how the UK public voted in that infamous 2016-referendum, allowing roughly a fourth of the audience (the percentage of Brits that actually voted to leave) to choose a representative to make the final decision. To me, the most chilling moment was when the elected spectator, a middle-aged Scot wearing a ‘Last Night the DJ Saved My Life’ t-shirt and a bucket hat, was encouraged to tell Miss Spain to ‘fuck off’, which he did with all his might. This very effectively cut through the silly, upbeat tone of the show, and I only wish there had been more of such uncomfortable moments, in which the audience is made complicit in the expulsion of these young and hopeful Continentals.

Not quite the unsparing satire ‘Miss Brexit’ set out to be, this show is well worth a watch for its strong performers and occasional bull’s-eye hits.

THE THREEPENNY OPERA at the Cockpit Theatre

★★★

“A promising opening, that isn’t quite sustained throughout.”

We walk into the ‘Factory of Plays’. A kind of warped bandstand sits centre stage, with mannequin torsos circling it; grotesque and absurdist, some attached to rope like an umbilical cord. Or a hangman’s noose. The front rows of the auditorium are littered with musical instruments. An accordion, trombone, trumpet, cello, clarinet. A banjo here, a Hawaiian guitar there. The space feels abandoned as though some frenetic activity has been interrupted. The truncated figures, like a troupe of mute Frankenstein’s creatures, waiting to be brought back to life. Enter two inventors, in white lab coats, followed by a cast of actor musicians in high-vis jackets.

This is the premise behind the OVO Theatre’s interpretation of the Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill ‘play with music’. Translated by Robert David MacDonald (dialogue) and Jeremy Sams (lyrics), it adopts many ‘Brechtian’ characteristics. There is no fourth wall whatsoever here as we witness the action being created in front of us. Characters step out of the narrative to talk to us. A phone is borrowed, a beer bottle grabbed and swigged from (oh, how far we have thankfully moved on from the specious sensitivities of the pandemic), scenes are interrupted by metallic tones and bizarre announcements. We are never quite sure where we are. There is something Orwellian. Dystopian. Yet grounded in present day politics. A Clockwork Orange meets Boys from the Blackstuff. A promising opening, that isn’t quite sustained throughout.

Macheath appears, chimera-like from within a cage to the strains of his signature tune. It is uncertain whether he is being created or born. He emerges savvy and streetwise, but with a menace that is too soft at the edges. Peter Watts is clearly enjoying the role, initially channelling Harold Steptoe but then allowing his natural charisma steers him into more dangerous territory. However, the sense of true danger is never quite realised in Adam Nichols’ staging. He allows the slapstick to overshadow nuance.

“Musically it is spot on”

Mark Carlisle’s Peachum has a gravitas as Macheath’s nemesis, aided by Annette Yeo’s feisty Mrs Peachum. Their tentative hold over the beggars of London is challenged when their daughter Polly (Emily Panes) marries Macheath. Panes dresses Polly in innocence – a veil that is easily torn by Macheath’s unscrupulous womanising, allowing her to reveal the dormant steeliness. Panes has one of the stronger singing voices. Although the cast comprises an all singing, all playing company, they don’t always meet the musical challenges. Harmonies and tuning are further loosened by conductor Lada Valešová constantly ducking and diving, like an itinerant beggar, around the playing space. Song introductions suffer from a slight delay while she locates the various musicians, and vice versa. This stop-start stodginess permeates much of the first act, and it is only after interval that the flow finds its true course.

Musically it is spot on, avoiding the pitfalls of some modern interpretations of jollifying the compositions. And Brecht’s intentions are duly honoured. The absurdity is in plain sight and the surrealism defies theatrical convention. But rather than neatly slotting into the narrative, frustratingly some choices are just a touch too bizarre and random, and we disengage as our understanding gets muddied. Nearly a hundred years ago when it opened in Berlin, the work was a radical critique of the capitalist world. It is indeed just as relevant today, and doesn’t necessarily need modern anachronisms, especially ones as clumsy as slipping in references to William and Kate into the libretto, or offhand allusions to Boris Johnson. The themes are more universal than that and Brecht and Weill deserve more respect.

What cannot be avoided is the original disjointed ending, which this production does manage to pull off cohesively and with an emotional commitment that makes sense of the satire. This is largely due to Watts’ performance, his rendition of ‘Call from the Grave’ one of the highlights. Society hasn’t really changed much since “The Threepenny Opera” first premiered. The moral messages are just as raw. OVO’s interpretation retains that rawness – and the genuine grit, even if it doesn’t always grip.

Tag Archives: Tom Cagnoni

MISS BREXIT

★★★

Edinburgh Festival Fringe

MISS BREXIT

Edinburgh Festival Fringe

★★★

“well worth a watch for its strong performers”

MISS BREXIT

Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Reviewed on 15th August 2025 at Ermintrude at Underbelly, Bristo Square

by Lola Stakenburg

Photography by Jake Bush

MISS BREXIT

MISS BREXIT

MISS BREXIT

The Threepenny Opera

★★★

Cockpit Theatre

THE THREEPENNY OPERA at the Cockpit Theatre

★★★

“A promising opening, that isn’t quite sustained throughout.”

“Musically it is spot on”