Mahahgonny Songspiel / The Seven Deadly Sins Weill + Brecht

RedLine Productions 2022

“ Anna II is the figure who can traverse the worlds of the double bill. In Mahagonny, she enters a world of sex, drinking and vice – everything that hadn’t been opened up to her in The Seven Deadly Sins. From the repressed world of Christendom, Anna II suddenly finds herself on this roller coaster of debauchery, decadence, and fun. If there are no rules, what happens? What are the repercussions? It’s a case of damned if you do and damned it you don’t – the morality of two polar extremes.” Even Anna 1 may be a kind of matron saying, “no, no, no”, but she’s also grappling with her own sense of what’s right and wrong, and what’s at stake. A lot of the works I love deal with the ancient question of what to do with the human animal. Do we let it run wild and free? No. Do we try to neuter and defang it? No. I think these two pieces investigate that question in a compelling way.”

“With our tiny 60 seat theatre with its leaky roof only 10 minutes from Sydney’s red light district, I think Brecht and Weill would have been very excited at the idea of taking their pieces out of the opera house or concert hall and into a completely unexpected venue.”

Interview Limelight Magazine