Peter Brook's adaptation of the John Gay opera follows the story of roguish highwayman Captain MacHeath as he awaits his seemingly inevitable trip to the gallows. It is only the Captain's studious use of a file that provides him with the opportunity of escape, but as the highwayman prepares to flee, a beggar who has written an opera of the great man's exploits waylays him. "The Beggar's Opera" is a hugely enjoyable satire on 18th Century society and says much that still rings true today.