On their 30th anniversary, the Tiger Lillies return to the Edinburgh Fringe with their dark, twisted and humorous One Penny Opera. ‘Based on the seminal 18th century Beggar’s Opera the band present a new song cycle swarming with highwaymen, thieves, jailers, pimps, and prostitutes – a world of greed, crime, poverty, and inequality’. Fringe goers can witness this wonderfully wacky cabaret at the Underbelly Cowbarn at Bristo Square from the 3rd– 28th August.
Vocalist Martyn Jaques also playing the accordion, piano and guitar excellently leads the murderous narrative of the opera. Adrian Stout who plays the double bass, theremin and musical chainsaw. An ingenious idea that produced a myriad of sounds that created a beautifully haunting effect. Voodoo Drummer Budi Butenop, was fantastic on the drums providing a wonderfully chaotically controlled performance.
The musical trio entertain in their dark Brechtian style cabaret. Full of tongue-in-cheek humour, the violent and crude language of each song contains new elements of the story unfolding in front of the audience. However, after the first few numbers, the songs did seem to bleed into one another which did become tedious at points. The use of crude language was used to its fullest extent in all of the songs performed, which quickly took away from the hard hitting affect it was intended to have on audiences. There were attempts by the trio to incorporate forms of props and puppetry to illustrate the story in the opera. Whilst it was successful in achieving moments of humour, this element could have been pushed further to allow for a clearer communication of the story being presented in the opera.
Overall, Tiger Lillies are successful in creating an interesting and dynamic performance that stays true to its Brechtian routes. If you’re interested in alternative forms of cabaret this show would be ideal for you.
You can purchase your tickets via the link below…
Theatre Scotland 
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