Rip-roaring musical and hilarious comedy (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Rip-roaring musical and hilarious comedy

THE Bristol Old Vic returns to its repertory roots for the final two shows of its spring season, with the same company of actors preparing to tackle one of the all-time great musicals and one of Alan Ayckbourn's best-loved comedies.

The Beggar's Opera and A Chorus of Disapproval will run for two weeks each at the Theatre Royal, before alternating performances for another two weeks.

The same cast will perform in both shows.

"These two plays are natural partners.

"The Beggar's Opera is a rip-roaring musical known and loved by millions, while A Chorus of Disapproval is a hilarious comedy about an amateur dramatics company trying to put on their own version of The Beggar's Opera," said Bristol Old Vic's associate director Gareth Machin.

First staged in 1728, John Gay's The Beggar's Opera has been performed more often in the West End than any other musical.

One of the great works of British musical theatre, it ruthlessly exposes the savage underbelly of 18th century Britain through the eyes of the world-class rogues Peachum and Macheath and their colourful entourages of gangsters, highwaymen, thieves, pickpockets and whores.

Alan Ayckbourn's Chorus of Disapproval was first performed in 1984.

It tells the story of Guy, a man who joins his local amateur dramatics group to make new friends - with hilarious consequences.

As the company attempts to stage its own production of The Beggar's Opera, real life begins to imitate art as Guy's on and off-stage lives begin to come together.

Tickets and dates for both productions from the Bristol Old Vic box office on 0117 987 7877.