A Chorus of Disapproval

A Chorus of Disapproval Summary | Act 1, Scene 1 Summary

As the play opens, we are watching the final scene of John Gay's Beggar's Opera, performed by the members of the Pendon Amateur Light Opera Society.

Beggar's Opera is a satirical play with music written by John Gay and first performed in 1728. It tells the story of a petty thief named MacHeath, married to one woman and engaged to another, betrayed for money into prison, condemned to death, and eventually reprieved. It was a satire on the political and moral system of the time, and has been both critically and popularly successful ever since.

At center stage is Guy Jones, playing MacHeath, surrounded by other actors playing parts in Beggar's Opera, all of who will be identified individually later. They sing the final song, dance the final dance and form the final tableau. The lights change, to indicate the curtain has fallen; the company takes their bows; and the director, Dafydd Llewellyn, makes a speech.

He briefly mentions all the people he wants to thank, without actually mentioning them by name; thanks the cast, Stage Management, and the audience; then gives a very big thank you to "one individual without whom none of this could have happened": Guy Jones, who only joined the society a short while ago, stepped in in an emergency, and took over the leading role.

Guy gets a special round of applause, led by Dafydd and joined by the rest of the cast. The lights change again, indicating the curtain has fallen for the final time,, the applause for Guy fades into silence, and the members of the company leave the stage, leaving Guy alone. As he removes his costume, the stage crew returns the set to a rehearsal configuration.

Hannah , one of the women in the company, appears, still in her costume as Polly, MacHeath's wife. She brings Guy his street clothes and very quietly congratulates him. He does not seem very enthusiastic. She leaves Guy's clothes on a table, begins to say something, then changes her mind and says goodbye in a way that indicates there is more going on at this moment than the end of a performance. Guy also says goodbye. Hannah leaves.

Guy changes his clothes, and goes to the stage door. He pauses and looks back at the stage. Music plays faintly, the lights change, and we are in Guy's memory of his first time seeing that stage, two to three months ago.