『非難のコーラス』の中の『ベガーズ・オペラ』

Abstract

Alan Ayckbourn's A Chorus of Disapproval,first produced in 1984,depicts a four-month rehearsal of Pendon Amateur Light Opera Society for John Gay's The Beggar's Opera.The play uses seven scenes and thirteen airs from The Beggar's Opera. This article examines the relationship between the plot of the play and the scenes and airs of the opera. Guy Jones,welcomed into the Opera Society,is cast as Crooked-Finger'd Jack. As he is soon promoted through the cast and finally to the main role Macheath, he gets involved with corruption because Guy Jones is actually a guy who doesn't say no to anything.The characters of the play express their feelings through the airs. What they perform on stage overlaps with their private life,and what happens in their private life leads to a rehearsal for the stage.