The Beggar's Opera

A classic folk opera by John Gay from 1728 has inspired numerous updated versions, including Václav Havel's 1972 adaptation. Apart from a clandestine 1975 performance by Divadlo na tahu staged in a pub in Horní Počernice before the police, the play received its official premiere in June 1990. Jiří Menzel, who successfully directed Havel's version at Prague's Činoherní klub theatre, took on the film adaptation a year later.

Set in the 1920s, the story is a morality tale about the entanglement of corrupt state power and the underworld. The distinctive theatrical language of the original was significantly condensed by the screenwriters, including Menzel and Václav Havel himself. Menzel cast mostly actors who had performed the same roles under his direction on stage.