The tale of Peachum, thief-taker and informer, conspiring to sedn the dashing and promiscuous highwayman Macheath to the gallows, became the theatrical sensation of the eighteenth century. In the Beggar's Opera, John Gay turned conversations of Italian opera riotously upside down, instead using tradiotnal popoular ballads and street tunes, while also indulging in political satire at the expense of the Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walople. Gay's highly original depiction of the thieves, informers, prostitutes and highwayman thronging the slums and prisons of the corrupt London underworld proved brilliantly successful in exposing the dark side of a corrupt and jaded society.