MC Messer is cool and ambitious, fighting his way through life without permission and work permit. His charisma is extraordinary, his demands high, his gang follows him unconditionally, and he has no fear. The threats of the Springmanns have little effect on him. However, Mr. and Mrs. Springmann have a lot of money from their successful company, power through created dependencies, and influence through their connections in politics and business. They want to do everything in their power to prevent their daughter Polly from getting involved with someone like MC Messer. A relentless battle for power, self-determination, and recognition unfolds.

​

Based on the motives "The Beggar's Opera" by John Gay, the second production of the Urban Arts Ensemble Ruhr creates an extraordinary piece about societal constraints, empowerment, and hope. With MC Messer, director Neco Çelik brings the adaptation into a present with recurring prejudiced narratives towards migrants and a world of clan crime, abuse of power, and absurd migration policy. It switches between the worlds of high culture and urban art, between popular music and opera, between dance theatre and hip-hop. Newly composed sounds, the powerful language of rap, the unconventional portrayal, and the powerful energy of the Urban Art Ensemble Ruhr also appeal to an audience that is rarely found in german theatres.

​

Director Neco Çelik has been staging plays, operas, and dance theatre since 2006. In 2011, his first opera directing work for Ludger Vollmer's "Head-On" based on Fatih Akin's film of the same name at the Young Opera Stuttgart was awarded with the German Theatre Prize "Faust" in the category music theatre.