A dark cabaret set to the timeless music of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht, mixed with modern classics from the likes of Morrissey, The Cure, David Bowie and Marianne Faithfull, also interpreted in a Brechtian style.
The show is an edifying concoction of tales about murder, suicide, thieves, blasphemy, sex and drugs... for all the family.
The Songs
THE BALLAD OF THE SOLDIER'S WIFE was composed by Kurt Weill,
with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht. It tells the story of the progress of the Nazi war machine
from the perspective of a German soldier's wife. She receives gifts from her husband as the
Germans conquer Europe; shoes from Prague, a hat from Amsterdam, lace from Brussels, until
finally she receives a widow's veil from Moscow.
The song has been recorded by many artists including
Lotte Lenya, Marianne Faithfull and PJ Harvey.
GLOOMY SUNDAY was composed by Hungarian pianist and composer Rezső Seress
and published in 1933, as "Vége a világnak" ("End of the world").
Lyrics were written by László Jávor. In his version the song was retitled
"Szomorú vasárnap"("Sad Sunday"). The song was first recorded in Hungarian by Pál Kalmár in 1935. The English version, "
Gloomy Sunday", was recorded by Hal Kemp in 1936,
with lyrics by Sam M. Lewis. Lewis's lyrics referred to suicide
and the record label described it as the "Hungarian Suicide Song".
The song was also recorded the same year by Paul Robeson, with lyrics
by Desmond Carter. The song reached a wider audience with the release
of a version by Billie Holiday in 1941.
IN BETWEEN DAYS was written by Robert Smith and performed by The Cure.
This track was a single from their 1985 album "The Head on the Door".
Much to Robert Smith's chagrin, the song was used in a TV ad by Fiat in the USA.
However, the money generated from the adverts allowed Smith to buy control of
The Cure back catalogue.
FIRST OF THE GANG TO DIE appeared on Morrissey's 2004 album "You are the Quarry".
The lyric deals with the subject of street crime and the shooting of a gang member. T
he song was co-written with guitarist, Alain Whyte.