I made Polly (The Heartbreak Opera) in collaboration with Sharp Teeth Theatre between 2017 and 2024 in Berlin, London and Bristol. It is a radical, Britney and Peaches sound-tracked, drunken hen-do adaptation of an 18th Century rom-com. It has had three tours, played at loads of incredible venues including the Lowry, Bristol Old Vic and the main houses of Greenwich Theatre, the Pleasance in London and the Barnfield in Exeter. It was shortlisted for the Untapped Award and the LET Award.
“Pulsing with the metallic tang of bloodthirsty revenge, bingo hall glamour and caustic satire… transforms a historic narrative into a radical, modern spectacle.”
★★★★
“A war cry for wronged women… riveting from the first moment.“
★★★★
Adventures In Theatreland
We took John Gay's banned sequel to The Beggar’s Opera, and smashed it to peices. Following all three of Macheath's wives as they sail the seven seas and wash up on an island to wreak their revenge. There are drag king politicians, Tarantino-esque machine gun showdowns, a pregnant murderess, and a pirate boyband called Blazin' Squid. It is a wild, joyous battlecry, and an unashamed expression of female rage, of love, loss, and revenge.
“The energy, the songs, the rhythms come of age like sweet wine. Confident, potent and heady. You could feel the spines curve, the men in power fall off their pedestals... Sweet retribution.”
★★★★
North West End
“a triumphant melding of satire, stagecraft, songs, comedy and more than a hint of the sinister… laugh-a-minute stuff of the highest order… A show that pulled off the dazzling trick of paying tribute to Gay’s original while being wholly original itself. Theatre needs ingenuity like this.”
The Greenwich Visitor
"Horror amid the hilarity: Marie Hamilton and Stephanie Kempson’s musical John Gay adaptation hits all the right notes... Overwhelming fun"
Exeunt
“Polly (The Heartbreak Opera) is an absolute blast. A rip-roaring feminist powerhouse of a show…brings Gay’s work bang up to date… two hours of brilliant fun.”
Backstage Bristol
“Metatheatrical gorgeousness… hauntingly dark and beautiful… fierce and hilarious.” The Play’s The Thing
“Haunting a cappella numbers, energetic hop-hop from pirate boy band, Blazin’ Squid, and a big ballad worthy of Eurovision. Excellent singing that will make you think and tap your toes while you do so.”
★★★★
Musical Theatre Review
“Manages to be both underground and epic, a jaunty yet chilling resurrected play from a bygone era that drips with relevance. It simpers, snarls and bites, and it’s a whole lot of wholehearted larger-than-life fun with a steely unsettling resolve.”
People’s Republic Of South Devon
“Completely captivating… genius storytelling… a new and different side to theatre that left me feeling exhilarated.”
State Of The Arts
"Gritty, in-your-face, intelligent exploration of feminism, power and control, completely bang on for political timing and satirical commentary... performances that contain an authentic vulnerability to grotesque abuse and all the nuances in between"
Weston-Super-Mum
“Terrific… Fierce and utterly irreverent.”
Ali Robertson, Kneehigh
Want to book it for a future tour? Send me an email, mariehamilton@live.co.uk
