For a fast-paced, fun show filled with audience interaction,
A fun one for the family, and for something a bit light and ve
The idea - which I imagine derives from the Neo-futurists’ Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind, another past Fringe favourite where players attempt to perform 30 plays in the same time constraint - is dynamic and fun, great for people familiar and unfamiliar with Shakespeare’s work alike. Alongside some of the most renowned scenes from Shakespeare, including the Romeo and Juliet balcony scene, Pyramus and Thisbe from A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Hamlet’s ‘To be or not to be’ with a twist, other scenes are thrown in from a variety of plays, with a variety of delivery styles.
If you’ve ever fancied watching Pericles being summarised in two minutes, or wondered what Timon of Athens was like performed by sock puppets, then A Fool’s Paradise is for you. Audience shout-outs dictate which scene is performed when, with everyone in competition with each other to complete their Bingo sheet. On the day I attended, the audience was made up of all ages, and everyone laughed a great deal throughout, myself included.
Some of the scenes were surprisingly intense and moving with an impressive range of repertoire being exhibited in such a short space of time. The awesome foursome Baltimore-based Logan Davidson, Lisa Hodsoll, Jenna Rossman and Sabrina Thornton do a wonderful job of performing a plethora of roles under quite strict time constraints.
The variety of A Fool’s Paradise means that it is impossible to get bored and the ladies clearly enjoy what they do. A fun one for the family, and for something a bit light and very upbeat.
