The Threepenny Opera — By Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, with Coque Malla

Teatre Principal — Sala Gran, Carrer de la Riera, 2, 07003 Palma, Illes Balears

With a grotesque staging, cynical characters and music that disarms any attempt at sentimentality, this version of the famous musical plunges us into a world where everyone plays dirty to win, and where black humour is the only weapon against despair.

In an interwar London where poverty and corruption coexist with luxury and vice, Macheath (Coque Malla), a ruthless and charismatic pimp and criminal, controls the streets with an iron fist. His empire operates among brothels, bribes and crimes disguised as business. Meanwhile, Jonathan Peachum (Omar Calicchio), the owner of a declining slaughterhouse, has built his fortune by exploiting beggars, organising poverty as a calculated and profitable enterprise.

When Polly (Carmen Barrantes), Peachum’s shrewd daughter, secretly marries Macheath, a war of interests breaks out: Peachum cannot allow his daughter to be with a criminal he does not control, and Macheath is unwilling to give up his power. As Peachum conspires with corrupt authorities to send Macheath to the gallows, Polly proves that she is much more than a mere wife: she is a strategist capable of playing on the same board as the men around her.

The city is a slaughterhouse in itself, where people are cannon fodder and survival depends on who exploits whom most effectively. Amid betrayals, sarcastic songs and fiercely critical humour, Macheath is finally arrested and sentenced to death. Yet, in an ironic and absurd twist, he is pardoned at the last moment by the Crown, reminding us that, in a corrupt system, justice is merely another spectacle.

Production by Teatro Pérez Galdós, Barco Pirata Producciones Teatrales and Unahoramenos Producciones, in co-production with Auditorio de Tenerife

• PRINCIPAL MENUT: The performance will offer a free playroom service staffed by specialised personnel. A place at Principal Menut can be booked during the purchase process, both online and at the box office.
• ACCESSIBILITY MEASURES: For people with hearing impairments, the performance will offer individual induction loops and amplified sound through headphones. Limited availability. To use these services, the devices must be collected 30 minutes before the performance. More information and system reservations: taquilla@teatreprincipal.com / educa@teatreprincipal.com

Musical theatre · Sala Gran